Child's family winsmalpractice lawsuitA jury has awarded a$'34.6 millionjudgment against aDuncanville clinic thatgave a 4-year-old alethal dose of sedative.

By MAXB. BAKERFort WorthStar-'felegram

A Dallas County family whose 4-year-old daughter died after she wasgiven a sedative overdose during aroutine medical procedure won a$34.6 million judgment against a,Duncanville diagnostic clinic yes-terday. •

The jury award was the largestmalpractice judgment ever in Dal-las County, according to a state-ment issued by the family's at-torneys.

Attorney Les Weisbrod, who rep-resented Erica Portlock's family,said her parents coaxed her intodrinking the sedative so that an X-"ray of her urinary tract could betaken.

Weisbrod said the child was per-fectly healthy when the testing wasdone in 1989. ,

The verdict included $9.6 millionin compensatory damages, $25 mil-lion in punitive damages against theDuncanville Diagnostic Center and

'-:"-$20,000 against Cheryl Heckerd, aradiological technician, the state-

-- ment said.Dr. Shu Ying Turng, the pediatri-

cian who ordered the tests, wasfound not liable in the lawsuit. Nei-ther Turng nor the attorney for theDiagnostic Center could be reachedfor comment last night.

Erica Portlock's death has beenhighly publicized because the fam-ilyhas been trying to get lawspassedin Austin and Washington to tight-en the regulations on independentradiology clinics in Texas and thenation.

The centers are not regulated, andthe family has testified that these

- businesses should be required toadopt written policies and proce-dures and meet the same standards

imposed on hospitals, Weisbodsaid.

"We have been to the State Legis-lature and the Congress to havethem regulated. and so far all wehave gotten is deaf ears, and I askedthe jury to send a message," Weis-bod said.

Erica's parents, Mary and Ray-mond Portlock, said they took Ericato the. Duncanville clinic for an X.ray after Turng said she had foundsome abnormal blood cells in aurine sample and suspected that shehad an infection, Weisbod said.

Erica would not lie still for X-rays, so the clinic's personnel triedto administer the liquid sedativechloral hydrate, her father andmother told a Texas Senate Healthand Human Services Committee in1991.

When Erica refused to drink thebad-tasting drug, her father coaxedher into taking it, Raymond Port-lock testified in 1991.

"The thing that really chokes meis that I actually administered themedication myself," Portlock, whohas since died of a heart attack, saidat the Senate committee hearing. "Ididn't know at the time what I wasdoing was actually poisoning her."

Assured that their daughterwould awaken a few hours later, thefamily took her home late in themorning, Weisbod said. By 7 p.m.,when Erica still had not stirred, thePortlocks rushed her to an emer-gency room, where she was pro-nounced dead, he said,

The Portlocks received a $1 mil-lion settlement from the radiolo-gist's insurance company, Weisbod -said. It may be years before the fam- )ily will see any money from yes-terday'sjudgment, he said.

Mary Portlock could not bereached last night. Raymond Port- -lock died last year. 0

Officials ofthe Texas Medical As- li:\sociation and the Texas Radiologic nSociety have not opposed state leg- nislation but have expressed concern nthat it may subject clinics to dupli- acate regulation. Doctors' practices tl

•are already regulated by the Texasmedical examiners board.

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Duncanville Today illThursday, October 14,1993. Page 7A

il-'Jrtry.'

:leia few minutes. .

ir i; The jury awarded the PortlockIt family $34,645,000, including1. $3,050,000 in past compensatoryo damages, $6,575~000 in future com-I_ . pensatory damages, $20,000 in puni-

.,'tive damages against radiologic tech-nician 'Cheryl Heckerd, and

.S25,000,OQOin punitive damagesagainst the center .:

The'jurY .. found Dr. Victora Eugene McCan; medical director forid . .the center, and .Linda Cole, a rncd-ig ,}cal tec~ici~n;,negligent in varyingJr • degrees In Erica'sdeath .In ';l~~:>Dr:McCan agreed to a $1 million

out of court settlement. He wasplaced on to years' probation by theTexas State' Board of Medical

Examiners in March 1991, and wasordered to get more training in car-diac resuscitation and write a paperon procedures that a doctor may del-egate to radiological technicians,

Cole also agreed to an out of courtsettlement, and agreed to pay thePortlock's $30,000.

This is the largest verdict in amedical malpractice case in the histo-ry of Dallas County, and the largestverdict in any kind of case for thedeath of a child in Dallas County,said Les Weisbrod, Mrs. Portlock'sDallas attorney. ,.

Or. Shu Ying Turng, the referringpediatrician, was 'ound not liable inthe lawsuit. that charged her withordering the unnecessary tests that

resulted in Erica's death. Erica wasreferred to the unregulated, unli-censed center by her pediatrician foran x-ray of her urinary tract.

The lawsuit said that "a perfectlyhealthy" Erica died in October 1989after being given an overdose of asedative during a routine examina-tion at the center.

Raymond Portlock died last year,following a heart attack, exacerbatedby Erica's death.

In a Tuesday press release, Mrs ..Portlock stated: "I am disappointedthat there. was no finding of guiltagainst Dr. Tumg because referringphysicians are as much a part of theproblem in dealing with unlicensed,unregulated clinics as clinics them- '

From Page 1A

selves. 1 am nonetheless happy thatthis will send the message to thosewho operate these unregulated, unli-censed freestanding clinics to adoptwritten policies and procedures forthe safety of their patients."

"Hopefully, this verdict will getthe attention of the Texas legislatureand the United States Congress sincewe have been unable to up to thispoint. Nothing will ever replace thelife of my daughter, but maybe thiswill keep some other patients fromgoing through what we have beenthrough. 1 know my husband wouldhave been pleased."

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