A California jury has awarded $9.5 million to the family of a 23-year-old mother and her newborn son who died in 2019 following complications from preeclampsia. The verdict, reached on October 21, 2026, comes after a seven-year legal battle against former Bakersfield OB-GYN Arthur Park, who was found negligent in his treatment of Demi Dominguez.
The family was represented by Trial Lawyers for Justice, including attorneys Courtney Rowley and Patrick Logan. Although the jury awarded millions in non-economic damages, California's medical malpractice laws will significantly restrict the amount the family can recover.
What Happened?
In April 2019, Demi Dominguez was approximately eight months pregnant when she sought medical attention at Mercy Hospital Southwest in Bakersfield, California. Dominguez, who was experiencing swelling and elevated blood pressure, was placed under the care of Arthur Park, the hospital's on-call OB-GYN.
Despite exhibiting symptoms associated with preeclampsia, Dominguez was discharged after approximately 23 hours with a prescription for labetalol, a medication used to control high blood pressure.
Several days later, Dominguez's fiancé, Xavier De Leon, awoke to find her experiencing a seizure. Dominguez died shortly afterward. Her son, Malakhi De Leon, was delivered through an emergency cesarean section following her death but survived for less than a day.
Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-related disorder characterized by elevated blood pressure and, in some cases, organ dysfunction. Without appropriate monitoring and treatment, the condition can progress to eclampsia, which causes seizures and can result in maternal or fetal death.
Following the deaths, Dominguez's family and fiancé pursued a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that Park's failure to provide appropriate medical care contributed to both fatalities.
Park subsequently faced disciplinary proceedings before the Medical Board of California and voluntarily surrendered his medical license in 2021.
The Allegations
The family's lawsuit alleged that Park failed to recognize and adequately treat warning signs of severe preeclampsia before discharging Dominguez.
Central to the allegations were Dominguez's blood pressure readings during her hospitalization. Medical records reportedly documented five systolic readings exceeding 160 mm Hg, a level associated with severe hypertension during pregnancy.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, severe-range blood pressure includes systolic pressure of at least 160 mm Hg or diastolic pressure of at least 110 mm Hg.
Patients with preeclampsia and severe features generally require immediate assessment, appropriate blood pressure management, and magnesium sulfate to reduce the risk of seizures.
The plaintiffs argued that prescribing labetalol without administering magnesium sulfate and continuing hospital observation failed to address the severity of Dominguez's condition. While labetalol can lower blood pressure, magnesium sulfate serves a different purpose by helping prevent eclamptic seizures.
The family maintained that appropriate medical intervention could have prevented both deaths.
The Trial
Represented by Trial Lawyers for Justice, the family proceeded to trial in Kern County Superior Court in October 2026.
Attorney Courtney Rowley presented the family's case, emphasizing the medical warning signs preceding Dominguez's discharge and the alleged failures in Park's treatment decisions.
The plaintiffs retained Los Angeles OB-GYN Dr. Michele Milovina as an expert witness. Milovina testified that Dominguez's elevated blood pressure readings required urgent medical intervention, including intravenous magnesium sulfate and continued hospitalization.
Her testimony addressed the applicable standard of care and whether Park's treatment decisions contributed to Dominguez's death.
The plaintiffs also relied on medical records documenting Dominguez's blood pressure levels during her hospital stay. These records became central to the dispute over whether Park had sufficient information to recognize the severity of her condition.
Park represented himself throughout the trial and did not call any expert witnesses or other witnesses to support his defense.
During his testimony, Park maintained that he had not personally examined Dominguez when she initially presented to the hospital. He also claimed that nurses had not informed him of her abnormal blood pressure readings.
Park disputed the reliability of the elevated readings, suggesting that problems with the blood pressure cuff contributed to the reported measurements.
Another physician involved in Dominguez's care, Dr. Hans Yu, was originally named as a defendant but reached an undisclosed settlement shortly before trial.
Mercy Hospital Southwest was also previously named in the litigation but was not a defendant in the trial against Park.
The Verdict
After two days of deliberations, the jury found Park negligent and determined that his negligence was a substantial factor in the deaths of Dominguez and Malakhi.
The verdict was widely reported as $9.5 million, compensating the families for non-economic losses, including the loss of love, companionship, and emotional support resulting from the deaths.
The verdict represents a significant finding of medical negligence against Park following years of litigation.
However, the jury's assessment of damages does not necessarily reflect the amount the plaintiffs can ultimately recover.
Under California law, medical malpractice claims are subject to statutory limitations on non-economic damages. Because the family's lawsuit was filed before the state's recent legislative reforms took effect, the verdict is subject to an earlier, substantially lower damages cap.
What's Next?
Despite the multimillion-dollar verdict, the family's recovery is restricted by California's Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), which historically limited non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits to $250,000.
Because the lawsuit was filed in 2022, the family's attorneys have indicated that the earlier damages cap applies.
In 2022, California enacted Assembly Bill 35, increasing the non-economic damages limit for medical malpractice wrongful death cases to $500,000 beginning in 2023, with additional annual increases.
However, the amended law does not apply retroactively to lawsuits filed before its effective date.
Dominguez's mother, Tracy Dominguez, played an active role in advocating for the legislative reform alongside Consumer Watchdog and other families affected by medical negligence. Her advocacy helped draw attention to the limitations imposed on families pursuing wrongful death claims.
Although the family secured a favorable verdict, the final amount recoverable remains subject to the applicable statutory limitations and any further proceedings.
Beyond the damages dispute, the case illustrates the significance of expert medical testimony in establishing the standard of care, evaluating clinical warning signs, and determining causation in maternal wrongful death litigation.
The verdict also highlights the importance of physician communication and appropriate intervention when pregnant patients exhibit symptoms associated with potentially life-threatening complications.
For the Dominguez and De Leon families, the verdict provides a formal finding of negligence after years of litigation. The outcome also brings renewed attention to maternal healthcare standards and the limitations of non-economic damages in California medical malpractice lawsuits.
