Star Trek star's family awarded $13M in heart failure malpractice case
The family of Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura on the original Star Trek television and movie series, was awarded a $13 million verdict by a New Mexico jury in their malpractice case against the Gila Regional Medical Center in southwest New Mexico.
The family said the 89-year-old actor was not feeling well and sought treatment at the hospital in 2022. However, the family alleged the doctors there did not diagnose that she had congestive heart failure. She was admitted for observation and was later discharged and sent to an assisted living center. She died there hours later on July 30, 2022. The family filed a medical malpractice suit in July 2023, alleging the hospital should have done more to catch and treat her heart failure.
"Miss Nichols came to the hospital for help. She was having a heart attack that was missed. It was a very chaotic environment and what services were available and what services were not available was chaos," said Theresa Hacsi, an attorney for Nichols' family, reported in the Albuquerque Journal.
The jury agreed with the plaintiffs and awarded the $13 million verdict. However, under New Mexico's Tort Claims Act, $400,000 is the maximum that can be awarded for claims against hospitals owned by governmental agencies, and Grant County owns the Gila Regional Medical Center.
As an actor, Nichols had many roles in onstage productions, movies and TV, but is best remembered as one of the first Black women featured in a major television series when she was part of Star Trek from 1966 to 1969. She also appeared in the later Star Trek movie series in the 1980s.
At one point during the television series she was thinking about leaving for another acting opportunity, but Martin Luther King, who turned out to be a big Star Trek fan, convinced her to stay because her very prominent role on national TV was helping break down racial barriers in the U.S.
Her role in Star Trek defined her for the rest of her life, making her a highlight guest at sci-fi conventions and a role model for real space travelers. From 1977 to 2015, Nichols volunteered to promote NASA's programs and to recruit diverse astronauts. This included some of the first female and ethnic minority astronauts.
Read more details about the case and the verdict.
Read more about the next steps and ongoing litigation in this case.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: [email protected]