On Oct. 23, 2009, plaintiff’s decedent Anthony DeRaud, 70, a retired school bus driver, underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. The procedure was performed by Dr. Peter Richman, a general surgeon with Facey Medical Group. DeRaud was initially diagnosed with gallbladder disease after being evaluated by Richman in September 2009. Richman subsequently recommended a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and informed DeRaud that the procedure could be converted to an open laparotomy, should there be any intraoperative complications. During the October 2009 procedure, Richman encountered bleeding of the posterior branch of the cystic artery that could not be controlled. As a result, he converted the procedure to an open laparotomy, and removed the gallbladder after ligating and clipping the cystic arteries. Post-operatively, DeRaud experienced an ileus (paralysis of the bowels), severe pain, and declining hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. As a result, he remained hospitalized under Richman’s care until Nov. 2, 2009, when DeRaud was discharged after the ileus resolved. At the time of discharge, his hemoglobin was 9.2 gm/dL. On Nov. 5, 2009, DeRaud returned to Richman’s office for a post-operative follow-up visit. The next day, DeRaud was found dead at his home. The coroner-performed autopsy found the anterior branch of the decedent’s cystic artery had a 4-mm longitudinal tear with a surgical clip missing and 900-cc of blood in the abdominal cavity. Thus, the cause of death, per the coroner, was arterial bleeding. One of the decedent’s daughters, Christine Manley, sued Richman, Facey Medical Group and Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. The decedent’s other daughter, Karin Gaxiola, was sued as a nominal defendant to exclude her from seeking recovery later on, but she was later dismissed. Manley alleged that Richman failed to properly monitor the decedent post-operatively and failed to timely diagnose the internal bleeding, and that these failures constituted medical malpractice that caused her father’s wrongful death. She also alleged that Facey and Providence were vicariously liable for Richman’s actions. Providence filed an unopposed motion for summary judgment, and it was granted, dismissing the medical center from the case. In addition, Facey stipulated to being vicariously liable for Richman, if he was to be found liable, and as such, Facey was not on the verdict form. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Richman, during DeRaud’s post-operative hospitalization, failed to recognize the declining hematocrit and hemoglobin levels as being evidence of internal bleeding. Counsel also contended that had a CT scan been performed while DeRaud was still in the hospital, the bleed would have been detected and surgery would have been performed to repair the arterial tear, which would have prevented DeRaud’s internal hemorrhage that resulted in the loss of his life. In addition, plaintiff’s counsel contended that Richman should have obtained a complete blood count to determine the hematocrit and hemoglobin levels during the post-operative office visit on Nov. 5, 2009. Richman claimed that he acted within the standard of care in considering all laboratory and clinical data before determining that DeRaud did not have internal bleeding. Therefore, he claimed there was no indication to perform at CT scan during the hospitalization or perform a complete blood count during the post-operative office visit. Furthermore, he claimed that the internal hemorrhage was a sudden event that could not have been predicted or prevented., DeRaud was found dead at his home on Nov. 6, 2009. It was ultimately determined that DeRaud died from internal bleeding due to a 4-mm longitudinal tear of the anterior branch of his cystic artery, causing 900-cc of blood to enter his abdominal cavity. The decedent was 70. He is survived by his 46-year-old daughter, Christine Manley, and another daughter, Karin Gaxiola. Thus, Manley alleged that she suffered the loss of love, companionship, affection and guidance of her father. She also sought an unspecified amount in non-economic wrongful death damages.