The State : UC Settles Medical Suit

The University of California has settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit that contended that improper post-surgical procedures caused brain damage in a young boy treated at the University Medical Center operated by the UC Davis School of Medicine. The settlement could cost the university $36.5 million if Joshua Davis, 4, of Vacaville lives to old age, the Sacramento Bee reported. The boy’s parents, Jacqueline and Wayne Davis, will receive $900,000 immediately under the settlement. Joshua underwent surgery at the medical center in 1980 at the age of 3 months to correct a congenital heart defect. The lawsuit charged that, after surgery, physicians and nurses negligently administered intravenous fluids and the drug Nipride and “failed to adequately manage post-operative hypertension through proper drug therapies. The parents contended that excessive doses of Nipride resulted in cyanide toxicity that contributed to “seizures and permanent brain damage.” Court records said the boy is moderately retarded and suffers from “a severe seizure disorder.”