LOS ANGELES — When his medical malpractice trial concluded in April, Dr. Essam Quraishi left an Orange County civil courtroom in victory. Swiftly and unanimously, 12 jurors had decided that the gastroenterologist had not been responsible for the death of a patient.
That was before his lawyer, Robert McKenna III, appeared in an online celebration video, bragging of his work and saying the case involved "a guy that was probably negligently killed, but we kind of made it look like other people did it."
Citing McKenna's remarks, the judge who presided over the trial has vacated the verdict, ordering the case back to court. "I think I have to protect the system and say plaintiffs deserve a new trial," Orange County Superior Court Judge James Crandall said at an Aug. 4 hearing.
