Las Vegas judge won’t be removed from medical malpractice case

Chief District Judge David Barker today denied a request to disqualify the judge assigned to a medical malpractice case against Summerlin Hospital.

Ruben White, who claims malpractice led to the tuberculosis-related deaths of his wife and twin daughters at the hospital, had asked District Judge Joe Hardy Jr. to withdraw from the case because of an appearance of impropriety.

Hardy, whose father is a doctor and state senator, declined. The matter then went to the chief judge for a decision.

According to Barker's six-page order, "The court finds that a reasonable person, knowing all the facts, would not harbor doubts about Judge Hardy's impartiality."

Attorney Robert Cottle, who represents White, said he plans to ask the Nevada Court of Appeals to reverse Barker's ruling.

White argued in a motion for recusal that Hardy's father, Republican state Sen. Joe Hardy, has an economic interest in the outcome of the case. White indicated he plans to file a motion in the case asking that the state's cap on medical malpractice damages be declared unconstitutional, and he argued that the judge's father has been "an active opponent" of removing the cap.

In addition, White's attorneys previously sued the senator in a wrongful-death case. In that case, they claimed a campaign sign had obstructed the view of drivers approaching a crosswalk and led to the death of a 13-year-old boy. The senator later was released from the case, and the plaintiffs proceeded against the company that managed his campaign.

Finally, White argued that Sen. Hardy has received "significant campaign contributions from various medical providers, including Summerlin Hospital," and "contributed significantly to his son's campaign" for district judge.

According to Judge Hardy's response to the recusal motion, his father "did not personally contribute funds" to his campaign; instead, his father's election committee contributed funds.

White filed his malpractice lawsuit in May 2014. His 25-year-old wife, Vanessa, has been identified as the source of a 2013 tuberculosis outbreak at Summerlin Hospital.

According to the malpractice complaint, she was admitted to Summerlin Hospital on May 9, 2013, and her twin girls, Abigail and Emma, were born prematurely "in substantial part because of the failure to identify and treat" their mother's tuberculosis. All three later died.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow her on Twitter: @CarriGeer.