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Jury: Doctor practiced proper care in meningitis case

Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator

Wednesday, 23 January 2008

A jury at Stockton’s San Joaquin County Superior Courthouse on Friday determined that a Patterson doctor was not negligent in his care and treatment of a 10-year-old patient who died of meningitis in 2004.

Dr. Eugene Lamazor

Dr. Eugene Lamazor, who practices at Del Puerto Health Center, exercised proper care of Patterson resident Christopher Pearson, the jury decided. The case drew to a close nearly a week before the court initially estimated it would end.

Lamazor continued to express sorrow for Christopher’s family after the trial last week.

“I didn’t consider it a victory because the child died,” Lamazor said by phone Saturday.

The suit filed by Christopher’s parents, Efrain Chavez and Cynthia VanGurp Chavez, had claimed that Lamazor failed to properly diagnose their son for meningitis, leading to his death.

Meningitis is an infection of the spinal fluid that surrounds the brain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacterial form of the disease, which Christopher acquired, is far more serious than the more common viral variety.

Both the viral and bacterial forms of the illness produce similar symptoms, including a sudden onset of fever, chills, fatigue, vomiting, headache, stiff neck, sleepiness, confusion, irritability and sometimes a rash.

A pediatric neurologist from Stanford University and an East Bay Area pediatrician both testified on Lamazor’s behalf, saying they believed Christopher likely contracted meningitis Jan. 25, 2004, two days after visiting Dr. Lamazor’s office.

Lamazor diagnosed Christopher with the stomach flu after seeing him Friday, Jan. 23, 2004, and gave his mother instructions about what to do if his condition worsened. He also set up another appointment for the following Monday.

Christopher became dramatically worse three days later. His mother took him to Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, and he was transferred to Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland later that day. Christopher died in the Oakland hospital Feb. 3, 2004, after his parents made the difficult decision to ask doctors to take him off life support.

VanGurp Chavez said she was initially pleased with Del Puerto Health Center’s care. However, she testified that her son screamed when Lamazor opened Christopher’s jaw. VanGurp Chavez said she presented Lamazor with a newspaper article about meningitis and asked if her son had it. She said her son exhibited some of the same symptoms discussed in the article, including vomiting, diarrhea and sensitivity to light and sound.

She also testified that her son had trouble walking and had a swollen neck at that time. However, Lamazor, his staff and the staff at Golden Valley Centers earlier that week all had determined the boy did not have a “stiff neck” or a staggering gait, both being symptoms of meningitis.

He said Christopher also did not have other indicators of the disease.

Lamazor said he and his medical staff testified they did not hear any screaming and that Christopher’s mouth did not need to be “pried open.” If that were the case, Christopher immediately would have been sent to an emergency room, Lamazor said. Even if Christopher’s mouth did have to be forced open, it would have not been a sure sign of meningitis, he said.

Lamazor said he spent 20 to 25 minutes with Christopher before making his diagnosis.

He said he has diagnosed meningitis about 20 times. In addition, he said, he has taught in infectious disease wards at State University of New York and at San Joaquin General Hospital and has overseen more than 100 meningitis patients in the process.

Lamazor said Saturday this is the first time he has been sued regarding medical care since he started practicing medicine. However, that information could not be discussed during the trial, because it could have prejudiced the jury.

The Patterson doctor said he also has had lots of support from his patients, who believed he exercised the correct type of care.

Though the jury decided in his favor, he said he still feels sympathy and empathy for the family.

“I don’t think (the Chavez) family lied; I think they were under a tremendous amount of stress,” Lamazor said.

Efrain Chavez said this week he could not say much about the trial, but he disagrees with the jury’s decision and hopes to appeal the case.

Derek Thiele, the attorney for the Chavez family, could not be reached for comment.

“We’re going to fight it ’til the end … so our son can rest in peace,” Chavez said.

Lamazor’s attorney, Mike Mordaunt, said this week that something would have to have been handled incorrectly in the lower courts for there to be an appeal.

“In my legal opinion, there’s no grounds for appeal,” he said.

The Chavezes filed the malpractice suit Jan. 21, 2005, against all of the doctors who saw Christopher before he was admitted into Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland. Suits against Golden Valley Health Centers, Dr. Edward Chan and Sutter Tracy Community Hospital have since been dismissed.

Both Lamazor and the Chavez family said the lawsuit has been emotionally difficult to handle.

“It’s been difficult to cope with,” Lamazor said, “but really it has not been as difficult (for me) as it has been for Mr. and Mrs. Chavez, who lost a child.”

To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it