BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A Kern County jury has awarded a $9.25 million judgment in a wrongful death civil trial against former OB-GYN Arthur Park.
The verdict comes seven years after 23-year-old Demi Dominguez and her newborn son, Malakhi, died after Dominguez was discharged from a hospital where she had been admitted for high blood pressure while nearly eight months pregnant.
Dominguez's parents sued Park, alleging that his care contributed to the deaths of their daughter and grandson.
RELATED: Jury deliberates in Demi Dominguez wrongful death case
Dominguez died in 2019, three days after she was released from Mercy Southwest Hospital.
The Dominguez family argued that Park missed warning signs of severe preeclampsia and that Dominguez should have remained hospitalized. Park disputed that claim, saying he did not believe her condition had severe features.
Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication that can lead to seizures. The family's medical expert testified that five of Dominguez's blood pressure readings reached the severe range and that she should have remained hospitalized and received IV magnesium.
Park, who represented himself, testified that Dominguez had preeclampsia, but not its severe form. He questioned some of her blood pressure readings, saying stress or problems with the cuff could have affected them.
