Sidney Zion sued New York Hospital and four doctors for medical malpractice for the alleged wrongful death of his daughter in 1984. The plaintiff argued that Libby Zion's death was caused by the negligence of doctors who gave her the drug Demerol which can be fatal when taken with Nardil, an anti-depressant, that Libby Zion told doctors she was taking. The defense argued Libby Zion failed to tell doctors that she used cocaine and other prescription drugs and that this prevented them from providing appropriate care.
Verdict
On February 6, 1995, a New York jury found that three of the four doctors were
negligent by giving Demerol to Libby Zion. But the jury also found that Libby
Zion was 50 percent responsible for her own death because she did not tell
doctors that she had taken cocaine and other prescription drugs. The jury
ruled the doctors must pay $375,000 to the Zion family for pain and suffering
but did not award any punitive damages. The jury cleared New York Hospital of
any wrongdoing, saying its system of training and supervising young doctors
did not depart from accepted medical practice.
In a post-trial ruling, Judge Elliott Wilk set aside part of the jury's verdict. The judge ruled on May 1, 1995 that the jury improperly heard evidence about Libby Zion's cocaine use. As a result, he threw out the jury's finding that Libby Zion was 50 percent responsible for her death.
The judge upheld the portion of the verdict relating to the negligence of the three New York Hospital doctors. While Zion said the judge's ruling vindicated his daughter's reputation, the defendants also won a 50 percent reduction in the jury's total award for Libby Zion's pain and suffering of $750,000, which lawyers argued was excessive. Under the jury's verdict, only half the award, $375,000, could be collected by Zion because Libby Zion was found 50 percent responsible for her own death. By cutting the total damages in half and clearing the family of liability, Judge Wilk maintained the doctors' damage award at $375,000.
