$2,076,000
Awarded

Community college student collapses and dies during lecture

Negligence*Miscellaneous
Wrongful Death*Adult

San Diego County Superior Court

Kinney v. Grossmart-Cuyamaca Community College, Case No. GIE018319(II). District (if any): Central. Judge: Lillian Y. Lim. Jury trial: 5 days. Verdict/Judgment Date: 3/10/04.

Verdict/Judgment: $2,076,000 According to defendant: $1,076,000 economic; $1,000,000 loss of society; apportioned $1,256,000 to Ri Kinney, $720,000 to Skylar Kinney.
Vote: 11-1. Deliberations: 3 days.

Trial Counsel
Plaintiff: Daniel DiRe, Law Offices of Charles LiMandri, Rancho Santa Fe
Plaintiff: Charles LiMandri, Law Offices of Charles LiMandri, Rancho Santa Fe
Defendant: Susan H. Bartleston, Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz, San Diego.
Defendant: Jack M. Seeth, Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz, San Diego.

Facts/Contentions
According to defendant: A community college student collapsed and died during an evening lecture. The plaintiffs were Ri Kinney and Skylar Kinney, wife and daughter, respectively, of decedent Darren Kinney, a 35-year-old student. The defendants were Grossmart-Cuyamaca Community College District and Jake Henn, Ph.D., professor. Decedent was a college student in an evening psychology class. During class, he began to snore loudly and fell out of his chair. Some students began to laugh. The instructor, who had some personal experience with sleeping disorders and was preparing a unit on sleep disorders, thought that the student was suffering from a sleep disorder. He told the class not to make fun of decedent, and when a student asked if 911 should be called, the instructor said, “I think he’ll be O.K.” The instructor tried to continue the lecture. A few minutes later, decedent stopped snoring and stopped breathing. Students in the class who knew CPR gave aid, and the instructor called the campus police, who coordinated a medical response with an automated defibrillator. Decedent died of a heart attack. The students and instructor testified that they did not know that falling asleep with sounds like snoring were symptoms of a heart attack.

Defendants contended that there was no duty to rescue, hence no breach of duty. The case was tried on the theory that the instructor told a student not to call 911 under a theory of negligent interference with a rescue. Defendant College contended that the law was unclear and that interference with a rescue required some affirmative act or something more than an opinion that “he would be O.K.” The jury was asked if the instructor’s conduct was unreasonable interference with a rescue.

Claimed Injuries
According to defendant: Death

Claimed Damages
Not Reported

Settlement Discussions
According to defendant: Demand: $3.2 million, reduced to $2.9 million (CCP § 998), and $1.5 million (CCP § 998) at trial. Offer: Not reported.

Trial Experts
Plaintiff: Harold Copans, cardiologist, San Diego Cardiology Associates Medical Group, San Diego, (619) 287-7060.
Plaintiff: Milton Erman, physician, Pacific Sleep Medicine Services, San Diego, (858) 657-0550.
Plaintiff: Marvin Pietruszka, family practitioner/internist/pathologist, Del Carmen Medical Center, Reseda, (818) 705-1157.
Plaintiff: Roberta J. Spoon, economist, Brodshatzer, Wallace, Spoon & Yip, San Diego, (619) 234-4173.
Defendant: Brian P. Brinig, economist, Brinig & Company, San Diego, (619) 687-2600
Defendant: Dennis Leahy, cardiologist, Escondido, (760) 743-0546.
Defendant: Werner U. Spitz, forensic pathologist, St. Clair Shores, (810) 776-2060.

Expert Testimony
Not Reported

Comments
According to defendant: Defendants were self-insured under the Joint Powers Authority – Keenan & Associates Claims Representatives. Defendants are filing a notice of appeal.

Editor’s Note: A report on this case, based on information provided by counsel for plaintiffs, was published in volume 7, issue 13 of Trials Digest (13 TD 7th 11).