A Florida hospital must pay $7.9 million for failing to properly monitor and treat a patient who fell into a coma after being given high doses of pain medication.

On Dec. 8, 2006, Alba Chavez underwent a laparoscopic gallbladder surgery at Miami, Fla.-based Aventura Hospital and Medical Center. Ms. Chavez allegedly complained of extreme pain following the procedure, and was given 6mg of morphine, according to court records. Ten minutes later, she was administered 4mg of morphine, followed by 1mg of Dilaudid 12 minutes later, and 1 final mg of Dilaudid 23 minutes later.

The hospital staff allegedly moved Ms. Chavez from post-op to the same-day surgery unit about 40 minutes after her last dose of medication, at which time she no longer complained of pain, court records indicate. Upon being moved, Ms. Chavez was allegedly taken off all monitoring equipment.

After a nurse in the same-day unit reportedly found Ms. Chavez "dusky and unresponsive," the staff determined that she had gone into respiratory and cardiac arrest while unmonitored, and had slipped into a coma. Some time after that determination was made, Aventura doctors allegedly told the patient's family - including her husband, daughter and son - that Ms. Chavez had no brain function left, and advised them to "pull the plug," according to court records. The family refused to do so, and Ms. Chavez awoke from her coma 46 days later. Ms. Chavez was transferred to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital on Feb. 6, 2007. Discharged less than 30 days later, Ms. Chavez reportedly had sustained a severe neurological injury resulting from a lack of oxygen, and was rendered totally disabled and in need of 24-hour care for the rest of her life.

Ms. Chavez, her husband and her 2 children subsequently filed a lawsuit against Aventura, claiming the hospital and its staff negligently breached its duty to properly monitor, diagnose and treat Ms. Chavez after giving her high doses of pain medication. The family claimed that the staff's negligence in monitoring Ms. Chavez led to its failure to treat the respiratory distress that caused her to fall into a coma and vegetative state.

The family sought damages for Ms. Chavez's pain and suffering, and other expenses. Ms. Chavez's minor daughter also sought damages for her loss of parental consortium. A jury found the defendant's negligence was indeed the legal cause of Ms. Chavez's injury, and awarded her more than $7 million for pain and suffering, as well as medical expenses and other losses. Ms. Chavez's daughter was also awarded more than $500,000 for pain and suffering, and lost parental consortium.

"We thought this was a case of total negligence," says Henry T. Courtney, attorney for the Chavez family. "And the jury overwhelmingly thought so, too. This family didn't do anything wrong, and I'm glad that they were able to recover [some of the damages] to help them out."

Attorneys for Aventura Hospital and Medical Center did not respond to requests for comment.

Mark McGraw