FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A jury has awarded a family another $12.39-million in punitive damages in case of Fresno doctor who walked out before the operation was complete. A jury awarded the family $55.6 million in general damages Monday.
Silvino Perez went into Community Regional Medical Center in Downtown Fresno needing heart surgery in 2012 and he never really came out.
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Six years later, he hasn't woken up.
Investigators say the surgeon, Dr. Pervaiz Chaudhry, left before finishing the operation by closing the 70-year-old's chest.
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Months later, the California Department of Public Health fined the hospital $175,000 without naming the patient.
CRMC reached a settlement with Perez's family before this trial, but still faces at least five more lawsuits related to Dr. Chaudhry's performance and one more from the whistleblower.