$950,000 Verdict Against Mid-Columbia Medical Center for Anesthesiologist's Assault of a Sedated Patient

A woman arrived at Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles, Oregon, for a blood patch, a routine procedure used to treat a severe spinal headache. The anesthesiologist assigned to her care, Dr. Frederick Field, sedated her for the procedure. While she was unconscious, he sexually assaulted her. When she started to wake during the assault, he gave her more anesthesia and put her back under.

The patient, named in the case caption as Erikson, was one of at least seven women Field was criminally charged with abusing at MCMC. In September 2012, Field pleaded guilty to 11 counts of sexual abuse and one count of rape. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Tom D'Amore of D'Amore Law Group, working with associate Nick Kahl, did not build the civil case around Field. He built it around the hospital. The theory was that MCMC had every reason to stop Field long before this patient was harmed. Internal records showed the hospital received roughly 19 complaints about Field's conduct across 2007, 2008, and 2011, from patients and from its own staff. Administrators left him in the operating room. They did not report him to police. Suing the institution, rather than only the man already in prison, put the hospital's own choices in front of the jury.

The case went to trial in Wasco County Circuit Court. Oregon law makes punitive damages difficult to win, because a plaintiff has to prove outrageous conduct by clear and convincing evidence. "They're very hard damages to get because you've got to prove very egregious conduct and you've got to prove it by clear and convincing evidence of outrageous conduct," D'Amore said.

On April 18, 2015, the jury sided with the plaintiff. By an 11-1 vote it found the claim timely, then found the hospital negligent by a 10-1 vote and awarded $800,000 in compensatory damages. It added $150,000 in punitive damages on a 9-1 vote, bringing the total to $950,000.

After the verdict, the hospital said it was considering all of its options. The coverage reviewed for this account records no reduction, remittitur, or reversal of the award.