The wife of man who died after a motorcycle accident has won a wrongful death lawsuit. 49-year-old Stanley Stinnett crashed his motorcycle in 2006 while trying to avoid a dog that ran into the road. He was transported to Memorial Medical Center of Modesto where he was in the care of Dr. Tony Tam for five days. Dr. Tam reported that Mr. Stinnett suffered fractured ribs, and he prescribed painkillers and instructed the patient to rest. Six hours after he arrived at the hospital, Mr. Stinnett went into respiratory arrest. Tests showed that the patient had low blood oxygen levels and high acidity in his system, which should have alerted Dr. Tam that Mr. Stinnett was suffering from more than fractured ribs. While hospitalized over the next four days, Mr. Stinnett’s stomach filled with fluid and swelled a great deal. Experts explained that type of swelling occurs when the digestive process is not functioning. It can be treated by draining the fluid or letting the issue resolve itself. Dr. Tam chose not to drain the fluid. Mr. Stinnett began vomiting several hours later, at which time nurses drained 2.5 liters of fluid out of his stomach. He died shortly after.

An autopsy showed that Mr. Stinnett died of heart failure; however, some experts testified that he may have died from choking on the fluid in his stomach. Lawyers for the Stinnett family believed that Stanley was misdiagnosed by Dr. Tam and could have lived if he had drained the stomach fluid earlier. A jury found that Dr. Tam’s negligence was a factor in Mr. Stinnett’s death and awarded his widow, Holly, $8.5 million.  $148,000 was for past economic loss, $1.2 million for loss of future earnings, and $6 million was for loss of love, comfort, and companionship. However, jurors were not informed of a California law that only allows for a maximum of $250,000 to be awarded for non-economic damages. Consequently, Holly Stinnett will only receive $2.4 million. The Memorial Medical Center of Modesto settled separately for $175,000.