SUMMARYA New Mexico jury found Gila Regional Medical Center negligent in the 2022 death of Nichelle Nichols, the Star Trek actress who portrayed Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, and awarded her estate $13 million. Nichols was admitted for shortness of breath, discharged after observation, and died seven hours later at her assisted living home at age 89.
The Root reports:
A New Mexico jury has found the Gila Regional Medical Center negligent in the death of Nichelle Nichols, who famously played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on the hit television series "Star Trek."
According to KRQE News 13, Nichols' family filed a lawsuit against the hospital last year following her 2022 admission for shortness of breath. Nichols' family claimed that she should have received a full cardiac examination, but the medical personnel sent her to the observation unit, and she was discharged the next day. After being transported to her assisted living home, the 89-year-old passed away just seven hours later.
In response to Nichol's tragic passing, the lawsuit alleged that Gila Medical Center "hired, credentialed, and inappropriately supervised unqualified medical providers" who treated the actress. The lawsuit also alleged that the hospital failed to secure a bed for Nichols or transfer her to a facility that had one. Furthermore, the attorney argued that the staff should have known that the assisted living center was not equipped to handle a patient with her medical needs. On Thursday (June 4), a jury found the hospital negligent and awarded Nichols' estate $13 million.
KRQE got this quote from the estate's attorney about the death of the 89-year-old acctress. "At the end of the day, Nichelle Nichols had a heart attack that was missed. Thatâ(TM)s why she died." The jury deliberated for "just two hours."