PRINTMichelle D. Leake v. David F. Jimenez
November 16, 2006 | 12:00 a.m. CST
The girth
There are many of years of legal work stuffed into this 5-inch-thick folder for a medical malpractice suit that has become one of the densest files in Boone County Circuit Court.
Related ArticlesThe gist
Michelle Leake’s parents have waited for years, and in April, they might finally learn whether Dr. David Jimenez provided medical services so below the standard of care that their then 22-year-old daughter ended up unable to care for herself.
Pending for nearly seven years, the lawsuit alleges that Jimenez’s efforts to treat a cyst in Michelle’s brain — a cause of headaches for most of her life — ended up severely injuring her instead.
Following several examinations and a scan of Leake’s brain, Jimenez allegedly promised his patient that he could cure her headaches with an endoscopic surgery, a minimally invasive procedure that would yield no lasting ill effects.
After the brain surgery in 1998, however, doctors determined that Leake would never walk, talk or use her limbs again and that someone else would have to help her take care of personal needs.
According to court records, on Feb. 9, 1998, Jimenez and a team of other neurosurgeons including Dr. Richard Teff and Dr. Richard Boyer performed the surgery at University Hospital and could not find the cyst in her brain. During the procedure, movement of surgical equipment increased the presence of cerebral fluid and pressure in Leake’s brain, causing severe damage.
The defense attorney, Hamp Ford Jr., a partner at Ford, Parshall & Baker, declined to discuss the pending litigation. He raised concerns that his comments could have an “unwarranted effect” on the litigation when it finally reaches trial. Ford also said he didn’t want his client, Jimenez, who was unavailable for comment because of a trip abroad, to answer questions about the lawsuit. James Collins, Leake’s attorney, also declined an interview. “I don’t want to do anything to prejudice getting a fair jury for either party,” he says. Ronald Leake, Michelle Leake’s father, says he has wanted to tell the world about what happened to his daughter but doesn’t want his comments to affect the case.
The stakes
The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 31, 2000, but because Michelle Leake is incapacitated, her father is the plaintiff as her appointed conservator. Their court papers allege injuries in excess of $225,000, an amount that might grow after the case is presented to jurors. “If I don’t get a huge reward for this girl, she doesn’t have a future,” Collins says. “It’s a huge burden on me.”
The status
A review of the case file shows neither party is taking the case lightly. Two doctors on the surgical team, Teff and Boyer, were dismissed from the litigation, and a battle over an expert witness indicates how far the defense will go to prove Jimenez didn’t commit malpractice.
Recently, the court ruled that Dr. John G. Frazee, chief of neurosurgery at the West Los Angeles VA Hospital and a clinical professor at UCLA’s School of Medicine, will get to testify even though plaintiffs objected because his role should have been disclosed earlier.
The jury trial, originally set for June 2001, has been pushed back several times. One of the primary reasons the case has lasted so long is Leake’s need for continual medical treatment, Collins says. The trial is now set for April 4, 2007, but Collins believes it will probably be pushed back to September 2007. He did not give a reason for the holdup.
