Estate of Matthew Steven Barker v. Cari Garza

Summary

A California state court jury has awarded $216,450 to the mother of a mentally ill 20-year-old who died after overdosing on narcotic pain medication provided to him by a former psychiatric nurse with whom he had maintained a sexual relationship.

The jury found on December 1, following a trial that began in October, that Cari Garza, who treated plaintiff Marilyn Smiths son Matthew Barker while he was a patient at the Aurora Las Encina Hospital in Pasadena, was negligent in giving Barker a non-prescribed Fentanyl patch that contributed to his death in 2008. Jurors awarded $650,000 to Smith, herself an attorney specializing in elder and dependent adult abuse cases, but the amount was reduced due to Barker and his mother also being found partially responsible for his death.

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Outcome

$216,450 awarded to plaintiff

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Estate of Matthew Steven Barker
Defense: Garza, Cari
Verdict: $216,450

Judge: William Stewart
Jurisdiction: Superior Court of California, Los Angeles
Court: Burbank Courthouse

Case Number: GC045404
Industry: Health care
Practice Area: Pharmaceuticals

Plaintiff

Estate of Matthew Steven Barker

Represented By:
Marcin, John (Marcin Lambirth LLP)

Defense

Garza, Cari

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

PM Session

Openings

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	Opening Statement	Marcin, John
00:31:53	Break
00:34:50	Opening Statement	Marcin, John
01:01:57	Opening Statement	Shapiro, Marc
01:23:08	End of Session

OCT

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
00:33:30	Break
00:37:53	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:07:35	Break
01:26:50	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
02:14:46	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Shepherd , Brooke	In Person
00:08:36	Witness Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Shepherd , Brooke	In Person
00:21:29	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Shepherd , Brooke	In Person
00:22:51	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Shepherd , Brooke	In Person
00:25:44	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Shepherd , Brooke	In Person
00:27:07	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:01:29	Break
01:21:05	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
02:11:58	End of Session

OCT

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:06:15	Break
01:26:14	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
02:20:08	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
00:52:30	Break
01:17:39	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:50:32	Witness Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
02:36:10	End of Session

NOV

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Chimarusti, Mark	In Person
00:11:07	Witness Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Chimarusti, Mark	In Person
00:18:19	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Chimarusti, Mark	In Person
00:32:40	Break
00:44:15	Witness Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Eskridge, Mark	In Person
01:12:37	Witness Cross Examination	Shapiro, Marc	Eskridge, Mark	In Person
01:51:41	End of Session

NOV

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:01:22	Break
01:25:33	Witness Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
02:20:47	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
00:01:57	Break
00:16:57	Witness Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:10:00	Break
01:26:31	Witness Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:32:50	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Marcin, John	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:38:45	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Smith, Marilyn	In Person
01:39:50	Witness Cross Examination	Marcin, John	Garza, Cari	In Person
02:20:36	End of Session

NOV

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Marcin, John	Garza, Cari	In Person
01:00:02	Break
01:21:52	Witness Cross Examination	Marcin, John	Garza, Cari	In Person
01:57:38	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Garza, Cari	In Person
02:11:32	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Sturges, Jennifer	Garza, Cari	In Person
00:42:04	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Marcin, John	Garza, Cari	In Person
00:52:55	Break
01:19:53	Witness Direct Examination	Shapiro, Marc	Henry, Nancy	Video Recording
01:57:30	Break
02:00:05	Witness Cross Examination	Shapiro, Marc	Henry, Nancy	Video Recording
02:38:23	End of Session

NOV

AM Session

Closings

3 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

4 Chapters

NOV

AM Session

Verdict

6 Chapters

DEC

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:12:05	Reading of the Verdict
00:16:20	Closing Statement	Sturges, Jennifer
00:25:11	Closing Statement	Marcin, John
00:31:27	Closing Statement	Sturges, Jennifer
00:34:44	End of Session

Estate of Matthew Steven Barker v. Cari Garza

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

Suggest a Trial

CVN Essentials

Video Library

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:30:32	Closing Statement	Marcin, John
01:54:44	End of Session