Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Jayden Vargas was diagnosed in utero as having congenital twisting of his bowels. He underwent surgery for his condition several days after he was born. Postoperatively, he suffered a bowel perforation, sepsis, necrosis, and anoxic brain damage. Now 9, the child suffers from seizures and short bowel syndrome. His condition necessitates 24-hour care.

Vargas, through a guardian, claimed that agents of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Southern California Permanente Medical Group had negligently force-fed him after the surgery, leading to the bowel perforation. The claimant also asserted that Vargas’s brain damage resulted from the failure to treat his critically low blood pressure.

The defense admitted liability and causation, and the parties went to arbitration on the issue of damages. The arbitrator awarded approximately $25.6 million, which the parties agreed to reduce to $25.3 million.

Citation: Vargas v. Kaiser Found. Hosps., Kaiser Arb. No. 16609, Apr. 14, 2022.

Claimant counsel: AAJ member Robert F. Vaage and Elizabeth H. Teixeira, both of San Diego.

Claimant experts: Carol Hyland, life care planning, Lafayette, Calif.; Amy Magnusson, rehabilitation, San Diego; and William Weiss, pediatric neurology, San Francisco.