$24-Million Botched Surgery Verdict Stands
An appellate panel has ruled that a 34-year-old woman left blind, paralyzed and mute after surgery deserves a $24-million award in a 1995 malpractice verdict.
Jennifer Hamel of Huntington Beach suffered the injuries during a routine gynecology test in 1993 at the Out-Patient Surgery Center. Hamel sued the clinic and Dr. William Keel, the physician who presided over the botched surgery that halted oxygen to Hamel’s brain, attorneys said.
An Orange County Superior Court jury awarded the $24-million judgment to be paid by Keel and the center.
An appeal by center officials contended that Keel alone was responsible. The appellate panel rejected that argument, pointing to statements made by center officials at trial that at least one of its employees, a nurse, was responsible for negligence that occurred, according to court documents.
“OPSC cannot, after specifically conceding its responsibility for its employee’s negligence, now argue it is not responsible,” Justice Edward J. Wallin of the 4th District Court of Appeal wrote in the Jan. 30 ruling.
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