Saturday, December 18, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Court affirms $4.8 million judgment against Sunrise
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
CARSON CITY -- A $4.8 million judgment against Sunrise Hospital stemming from a 1995 operation that left a man in a permanent vegetative state was upheld Friday by the Supreme Court in a 5-2 ruling.
A jury awarded the damages to James Banks in 2001, ruling Sunrise failed to preserve the anesthesia equipment used in his operation.
Sunrise appealed, citing errors and asking for a new trial.
The family of James Banks also appealed, challenging a reduction in the judgment of $1.9 million by District Court. The jury award was reduced by that amount because it was the amount of a settlement from two doctors involved in the operation.
Banks went into the hospital for rotator cuff surgery but suffered complications and went into cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated but has never regained consciousness.
His family sued the doctors and the hospital and alleged the use of faulty anesthesia equipment. Banks settled with the two doctors before trial.
In the trial, Banks' attorney told the jury that Sunrise did not preserve the anesthesia equipment for testing. The jury then returned its verdict in favor of Banks.
Justices Bill Maupin and Nancy Becker dissented from the majority and said errors by District Court, including a flawed jury instruction on the failure to preserve evidence, warranted a new trial.
