A Kern County Superior Court jury in Bakersfield awarded $9,250,000 on Oct. 21, 2026 against former OB-GYN Arthur Park for the deaths of Demi Dominguez, 23, and her newborn son Malakhi.
The jury found Park negligent in Demi Dominguez's medical care. Consumer Watchdog reported the verdict in its verdict report. The case was an individual wrongful-death trial, not a class action with an open claim form.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Consumerwatchdog — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official guidance from Prnewswire — Use this primary source to verify the official guidance.
Table of Contents
- How the $9.25 million was divided
- What happened at Mercy Southwest Hospital
- Why Park's disciplinary history mattered
- Can you file a claim from this verdict
How the $9.25 million was divided
The jury awarded $3,000,000 to Demi's mother, Tracy Dominguez. Consumer Watchdog's release, mirrored by Morningstar, describes the sum as non-economic damages in the Morningstar mirror. Non-economic damages means money for human loss, such as loss of love, companionship and security, not medical bills.
The jury awarded $6,250,000 to Xavier De Leon, the father of baby Malakhi De Leon, for loss and non-economic damages. The syndicated Consumer Watchdog release states that award and the $9,250,000 total in the syndicated release. The two awards together make up the full verdict.
What happened at Mercy Southwest Hospital
In April 2019, Demi Dominguez was 32 weeks pregnant and went to Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield. She had whole-body swelling and high blood pressure. Those signs were later attributed to severe preeclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy condition involving high blood pressure.
Family and Medical Board allegations state that on-call physician Park never examined her during a 13-hour stay. Legal Reader summarized those allegations in its wrongful-death case summary. The accounts state she was discharged April 16, 2019 on labetalol with home blood-pressure monitoring, then found seizing April 19 and died with her baby.
Why Park's disciplinary history mattered
Park had prior Medical Board discipline, including probation connected to infant deaths and later suspended and probation orders. Consumer Watchdog, citing a Medical Board filing in January 2023, reported that history. That same reporting states Park stipulated Dec.
3 to surrender his California physician license permanently, effective Dec. 30. The jury verdict therefore addressed civil compensation to the family, not a new limit on his practice.
Can you file a claim from this verdict
You cannot file a claim in this verdict. Only the named family plaintiffs receive the awarded amounts.
There is no settlement fund, deadline, or claim form for other consumers. Families dealing with a similar severe birth injury can take practical steps before speaking with a malpractice attorney:.
- Request complete prenatal, hospital, discharge, and pharmacy records
- Save discharge papers, labetalol instructions, and home blood-pressure logs
- Write a dated timeline of symptoms, calls, visits, and names of staff
- Keep copies of bills, funeral costs, and work time lost for care