By JOHN COX, The Bakersfield Californian
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/local-ob-gyn-ordered-pay-035900654.html
A Bakersfield obstetrician-gynecologist was ordered to pay two local families a total of $9.25 million after being found guilty Wednesday in a lawsuit that accused him of negligent medical care in the 2019 death of a 23-year-old university student and her infant son.
But Dr. Arthur Park, who represented himself in the case in Kern County Superior Court, will only have to pay a total of $1 million because of a state law capping such judgments at $500,000 per victim. He may not even pay that much.
“He said that if he had money he would have gotten himself a lawyer,” said medical patient advocate Michele Monserratt-Ramos with Los Angeles-based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. “Per his own words … (he) isn’t planning on paying anything.”
Park could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The suit was brought by Tracy Dominguez, mother of victim Demi Ruben Dominguez, and by Xavier DeLeon, father of the infant, Malakhi Ruben DeLeon.
Demi Dominguez was about to receive a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Cal State Bakersfield, and was in her eighth month of pregnancy, when she called Arthur complaining of swelling and discomfort. Unable to see her so suddenly, he reportedly told her to wait until her next medical appointment.
But fearing for her baby’s safety, she went to Mercy Southwest, where she stayed for as many as 18 hours with blurred vision and high blood pressure. Dominguez was discharged without a diagnosis and within days died from pre-eclampsia, a leading cause of maternal injury.
An emergency cesarean section was performed and Xavier DeLeon had the opportunity to meet Malakhi, who died shortly thereafter from a seizure.
The case gained attention even before the sizable judgment because, prior to the lawsuit, Park’s case drew unflattering attention to the California Medical Board.
Park had a history of cases involving allegations of negligent medical care during his decades of practicing medicine in Bakersfield.
The medical board twice placed him on probation after reviewing cases in which two babies died in the late 1990s and a mother died soon after delivering a baby in 2016. Park agreed to surrender his medical license in 2021 rather than face an administrative hearing in the Dominguez case.
The Dominguez family has worked with Consumer Watchdog trying to make the board more responsive to families alleging their doctors neglected their loved ones’ care.
The family accused Park of failing to visit Dominguez’s room while she was in the hospital. The doctor countered that he treated her in her room three times but forgot to make notes of his visits.
Three million dollars of Wednesday’s judgment is supposed to go to the DeLeon family, the rest to the Dominguez family.
Tracy Dominguez said Thursday she was happy the jury found Park guilty, saying, “It’s a long time coming.” But she voiced frustration that he continued to practice medicine after having been accused of medical negligence over such a long period.
She added that he exhibited no remorse for his actions. “He tried to make the jurors feel sorry for him,” she said.
The state cap on financial damages in such cases was increased in 2023 but cannot be applied retroactively.
Even the higher cap would not have allowed such a steep judgment, however. If a patient dies after experiencing negligent care, the doctor responsible would have to pay no more than $650,000.
