On Sept. 26, 2008, plaintiffs’ decedent Madeline Knox, 67, a children’s day care owner, underwent a partial thyroid surgery by Dr. Richard Kerbavaz, an otolaryngologist who had privileges at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley. Within two hours of the surgery, Knox began to show signs of airway compromise, including stridor, difficulty breathing and profuse sweating. The nurses at the hospital subsequently called the Rapid Assessment Team, who came, took one set of vital signs and left. The nurses then called Kerbavaz at home to inform him that Knox had stridor and that the family was upset. Kerbavaz said he would come back to the hospital, but Knox continued to decline and the family members continued to request intervention before he arrived. When Kerbavaz finally arrived and came into the room, he immediately saw the swelling at Knox’s surgical site and began to remove the stitches to release the pressure on her airway. However, while he was doing that, Knox went into respiratory arrest. The Code Team then tried to intubate Knox, but could not do so until they removed the large hematoma. Once they did that, another attempt to intubate was made, but it was unsuccessful and a tracheostomy was performed. Knox went into a coma and no brain activity was detected. Life support was ultimately withdrawn one week later, and she passed away. The decedent’s daughters, Phyllis Keys and Starlette Settles, and her sister, Erma Smith, sued Kerbavaz and Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. The decedent’s family alleged that the defendants were negligent in Knox’s post-operative care and that this negligence constituted medical malpractice. Kerbavaz settled prior to trial, but was listed on special verdict form for purposes of apportionment of fault. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that airway compromise as a result of a developing hematoma at a surgical site is a well-known, post-surgical complication that is life threatening. However, counsel contended that when Knox began to show signs of airway compromise, including stridor, difficulty breathing and profuse sweating within two hours of the surgery the nurses called the Rapid Assessment Team, who came and took one set of vital signs, without evaluating the airway or determining why Knox was in distress. Plaintiffs’ counsel also contended that after the nurses called Kerbavaz at home to inform him that Knox’s stridor, Kerbavaz said he would come back to the hospital, causing Knox to be in distress and continue to decline for approximately 35 minutes before he arrived. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the employees of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center were negligent in Knox’s post-surgical treatment by failing to properly monitor the patient and determine the cause of her respiratory compromise. Counsel also argued that the medical center’s employees were negligent for not contacting a critical care physician, who was in the hospital, to evaluate Knox for post-neck surgery respiratory compromise. Counsel argued that these failures ultimately caused Knox’s death and negligently inflicted emotional distress on Keys and Smith, who were present during Knox’s care and treatment. Alta Bates Summit Medical Center claimed that its employees met the standard of care and did not cause any to the plaintiffs, including Knox’s death., Knox developed difficulty breathing, went into respiratory arrest, and slipped into a coma due to airway compromise for a developing hematoma at the surgical site. She subsequently required a tracheostomy after the hematoma was removed, but no brain activity was detected and life support was ultimately withdrawn one week later. Knox died on Oct. 10, 2008. She was 67. Knox was survived by a sister and two daughters. One of the decedent’s daughters, Keys, and the decedent’s sister, Smith, claimed they suffered additional emotional distress because they witnessed the events that led to Knox’s death, including Knox in a compromised position and gasping for air. They claimed that although they expressed their concern, Knox was left untreated. Thus, Keys, Smith and the decedent’s other daughter, Settles, sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their loved one. In addition, Keys and Smith sought recovery of additional damages for their emotional distress.