Athens jury returns $4.3 million verdict in medical malpractice suit in man's death

A Clarke County State Court jury recently awarded the estate of an Athens man $4.36 million following a recent trial in a civil lawsuit stemming from the man’s death that occurred during a cardiac catheterization procedure.

The jury returned the medical malpractice verdict against Athens Heart Center and Dr. Subodh Agrawal after a weeklong trial presided over by Judge Charles Auslander in Athens.

The lawsuit was filed over the Aug. 25, 2017, death of Juan Molina, an Athens businessman who was also well known in the city’s music scene, where he performed with groups such as The Squalls that was active in the 1980s, and also Little Tigers and Go Van Go.

The trial began Jan. 30 and the case went to the jury on Feb. 6. A verdict was rendered just days later. The jury awarded $3.8 million for the value of life, $500,000 for pain and suffering and $63,000 for medical and funeral expenses.

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“I thought the jury worked very, very hard,” said Savannah attorney Steve Lowry of Harris Lowry Manton, who along with co-counsel James Carter of Madison, represented the Molina estate.

“They were obviously paying close attention and worked very hard coming up with the verdict," he said.

Molina’s brother, Miguel Molina of St. Petersburg, Fla., said the trial was exhausting.

“In retrospect, I am so grateful they were devoted to making the right decision,” he said.

Molina, who was 58, died in what Lowry said is considered a routine medical procedure.

“It’s not without risks, but the risks are very low,” he said.

Juan Molina had gone to his physician and an EKG came back abnormal, so a cardiac catheterization was ordered at St. Mary’s Hospital to determine if he had a heart condition. In the procedure, a tube is inserted in a blood vessel and it reaches the heart to determine such conditions as a blockage.

“The doctor put the catheter into his ventricle wall, which you are not supposed to do, and injected a contrast or dye into the wall and that completely undermined the wall, which led to a perforation,” Lowry said.

This caused complications and they were unable to stop the bleeding “and Juan passed away,” Lowry said.

Miguel Molina said he was in Athens that day to take care of their father, while his brother had the procedure.

“He was the full-time caretaker for my dad and had done that for a couple of years,” Miguel said.

“It was considered a routine procedure and no one ever imagined anything like this. He never left the hospital. We’ll never get over it,” the brother said.

Juan Molina, who owned a restaurant with his wife Vanessa Molina, was a multi-talented musician who could do vocals and played bass guitar, drums and flute.

Molina and his brother were both born in Cuba.

“He was no more than a year old when we moved to the States,” his brother said. The family moved in Atlanta in 1967 and Molina graduated from the University of Georgia, where he “quickly got connected to the music scene.”

“Everything important that happened in his life, it happened in Athens,” the brother said. “He met the love of his life, got married, and helped develop the bands.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens jury returns $4.3 million verdict in medical malpractice lawsuit