A Kern County jury has sided with the family of Demi Dominguez, finding that former OB-GYN Arthur Park was negligent in the deaths of the 23-year-old mother and her newborn son, Malakhi, and awarding the family millions of dollars in damages. But even with a verdict in hand, the family may never see the full amount, because of a decades-old cap on malpractice awards in California.
A Verdict After Years of Waiting
The exact size of that verdict is itself in dispute. According to turnto23.com, the jury awarded a $9.25 million judgment, while KGET reported the figure at $9.5 million. Per a release from Consumer Watchdog, the award was split between Dominguez's mother, Tracy Dominguez, who was awarded $3 million, and Malakhi's father, Xavier De Leon, who the jury awarded $6,250,000 for loss and damages, loss of love and security, and non-economic damages.
The jury's finding closes out a civil trial that stemmed from events in April 2019, when Dominguez, nearly eight months pregnant, was admitted to the hospital for high blood pressure. Park ordered up to 23 hours of observation, but the hospital discharged her in less than 17 hours, according to the seed reporting from 23ABC News Bakersfield. Malakhi was delivered by emergency C-section, the outlet reported, and he died just hours after delivery.
A Seizure, Days Later
Dominguez suffered a seizure at home days after her discharge, and her partner, Xavier, performed CPR on her until first responders arrived, per 23ABC's reporting. She died April 19, 2019, just three days after being discharged from Mercy Southwest Hospital, according to the same turnto23.com account of the case. The jury found that Park's negligence was a substantial factor in both of their deaths, KGET reported.
At trial, the Dominguez family argued that Park missed warning signs of severe preeclampsia and that Dominguez should have remained hospitalized, the station's report states. The family's medical expert testified that five of Dominguez's blood pressure readings reached the severe range and said she should have remained hospitalized and received IV magnesium. Tracy Dominguez told jurors that Demi was her daughter and her best friend, according to 23ABC, and the family's attorney urged jurors to hold Park accountable.
Park Represented Himself, Disputed Severity
Park represented himself throughout the trial and asked jurors to consider his side of the case. He disputed the family's claim, testifying that Dominguez had preeclampsia, but not its severe form, per turnto23.com's coverage of the proceedings. During deliberations, jurors asked the court about damage awards in comparable cases, but the judge told them that comparable figures could not be provided because there is no set standard for non-economic damages, according to 23ABC's reporting on the case.
Following the verdict, Park said he cannot pay the judgment, the same KGET account notes. He relinquished his medical license in 2021 and can no longer practice medicine. A second physician involved in the case, Dr. Hans Yu, settled with the family out of court before trial for an amount that remains undisclosed, per the station's report.
Why the Family May Collect Far Less
Despite the multimillion-dollar jury finding, the Dominguez family may recover only a fraction of it. KGET reports that the family is receiving $250,000, a limit tied to an older California malpractice-damages law that predates more recent reforms. In 2022, due to the family's advocacy, state lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 35 to increase the cap on malpractice cases, but that change does not apply retroactively to this case, the outlet reported.
The case had already drawn attention beyond Kern County before the verdict came down. KGET has reported that the case was being followed closely by maternal health advocates across the state. Under California's wrongful-death statute, Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, a cause of action for a death caused by another's wrongful act or neglect may be asserted by eligible survivors or a decedent's personal representative, while section 377.61 allows a court to award damages as may be just under the circumstances, excluding certain other recoverable damages.
