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Failed vasectomy costs NMI govt $906,000
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Posted on Oct 31 2008
A Superior Court jury has found the CNMI government liable to pay $906,000 to a police officer and his wife who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Commonwealth Health Center over a failed vasectomy surgery.
After deliberating for more than an hour, the six jurors reached a verdict Thursday afternoon. They determined that the Commonwealth was negligent by failing to meet the applicable standard care.
The jury awarded Police Officer Eric David $100,000 in emotional distress and another $100,000 in loss of consortium.
The jury awarded Tanya David $200,000 in emotional distress, $200,000 in pain and suffering from child birth, and $100,000 in lost earnings.
The jurors also awarded the couple $100,000 in economic damages associated with raising their son from the time of his birth to the age of 18 and another $106,000 in economic damages for cost of child birth.
The jurors determined that the Commonwealth’s negligence resulted in Mrs. David’s unplanned pregnancy and that Mr. and Mrs. David suffered harm as a couple and individual harm as a result.
Attorney George Hasselback was counsel for the David couple. Assistant Attorney General David Lochabay represented the CNMI government and CHC.
The David couple, together with their son, lodged the lawsuit in 2004 against Dr. John Yarofalir, who allegedly performed the failed vasectomy surgery on the officer sometime in 2004. Yarofalir was subsequently replaced by the government as defendant.
According to the jury instructions, the Commonwealth is responsible for the negligent acts of its employees. Therefore, by law, if Dr. Yarofalir was negligent, then the Commonwealth was negligent.
The complaint stated that the failed vasectomy surgery on Mr. David resulted in his wife’s unplanned pregnancy, delaying her plans to complete her studies and eventually join the U.S. Army.
The complaint said Mrs. David was also made to take a prescription drug without her knowledge that she was pregnant, which is believed to have resulted in her baby’s hearing problem.
