SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court recently affirmed a $6.3 million verdict against San Diego County in the case of a man who suffered permanent brain damage after sheriffs’ deputies waved off paramedics and took him to jail for public intoxication.
After being arrested for falling into a planter on a street in Encinitas in December 2016, David Collins became increasingly disoriented and ultimately was transported to a hospital where he was diagnosed with hyponatremia, or severely low sodium and a brain bleed. He claimed permanent brain damage and disability and a jury awarded him $12 million in damages, which the trial judge cut in half to comply with California law.
San Diego argued the verdict was incorrect for several reasons, including the fact the jury rejected Collins’ claim of false arrest yet found the deputies liable for everything that happened after that arrest. The Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal, in a Feb. 17 ruling, disagreed, saying paramedics were the first on the scene when Collins fell and the jury could logically conclude the deputies interfered with their medical evaluation of the man by arresting him and taking him to jail.
The facts of the case were in sharp dispute. San Diego County cited witnesses who said Collins, a roofer by trade, had come down with a severe cold after visiting his sister in Indiana in October 2016 and was using NyQuil and DayQuil to treat his symptoms. Collins testified he spent most of his time alone in his room playing video games and watching movies.
The day of his arrest, Collins roommates said he was acting odd and sent text messages that suggested he was hallucinating, including one saying he was “hanging out with Jerry Seinfeld.” Around 7 p.m. Collins called 911 and told the dispatcher there were homeless people in his bed. Within 10 minutes officers David Sanchez and Matthew Chavez arrived and checked the apartment for intruders.
At trial, Chavez testified a roommate said Collins had been binge drinking all week and a roommate said there were empty beer cans and containers of what looked like urine in his room. After the officers left, the roommate testified Collins continued acting strangely, ultimately leaving the apartment and wandering downtown.
A passerby called 911 after Collins fell into a planter and paramedics were first on the scene. Chavez and Sanchez arrived soon thereafter, recognized Collins from earlier in the evening and arrested him for public intoxication. After the arrest, Sanchez changed the reason for the call in the computer system from medical assistance to public intoxication.
Collins continued hallucinating in jail and officers placed him in a “sobering cell,” with padding. A nurse wrote in her report that Collins indicated he had used “all kinds of drugs” and that he didn’t know what he had taken exactly. A few hours later he fell backward in the cell and was taken to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with hyponatremia.
There were no drugs detected in his system and Collins’ expert witness later said the hyponatremia was likely caused by a viral infection and the NyQuil. A defense expert said the condition was more likely caused by excessive consumption of beer.
To treat the hyponatremia, doctors raised his sodium level so quickly that he suffered another complication and further brain damage. Collins was hospitalized and eventually released to his parents in January 2018. His speech remained severely impaired and he said he couldn’t work.
The hospital, Palomar Health settled before trial for $2.75 million. The county argued the deputies couldn’t be found negligent for causing his injuries since his arrest was justified, according to the jury.
The county complained about attorney Robert Vaage’s closing arguments, during which he said the deputies were negligent because “they took him away from the paramedics.”
“All they had to do was stay out of the way, let the paramedics do their job, and the rest of this never happens,” Vaage argued. “Instead they decided to intervene without assessing him themselves, without asking him any questions.”
The County’s own law enforcement officer testified it would be inappropriate to take Collins into custody before a medical assessment was done, however.
‘The deputies could simultaneously have probable cause to arrest Collins, but also have negligently interfered with the paramedics, preventing Collins from receiving critical medical care,” the appeals court ruled.
The county also argued it couldn’t be held liable for the actions of the hospital physicians who settled before trial. The court disagreed, saying the jury found that Collins suffered his injuries before he got to the hospital, because the deputies interfered with the paramedics.
The county also sought to reduce the award because of the earlier settlement, but that settlement didn’t specify the dollar amount allocated to noneconomic damages. California law limits awards against medical providers to $250,000 in noneconomic damages.