COLORADO JURY AWARDS PARALYZED MAN $2.8 MILLION

A Colorado jury has awarded $2.8 million to a 66-year-old man who became permanently paralyzed after medical staff at Pueblo’s Parkview Medical Center failed to recognize a spinal injury when he came to the emergency room for treatment, the man’s attorney says.

The emergency department team was negligent in its treatment of Samuel Chifalo following a fall on Feb. 11, 2016, in which the man struck his face on furniture and sought hospital care, according to a statement by Denver attorneys David Woodruff and Henry Miniter.

The award was one of the largest jury verdicts in Pueblo County history, the attorneys said.

A message seeking comment about the jury decision with Parkview Medical Center was not returned Monday.

If treated promptly with neurosurgery, Chifalo’s spinal injury could have been reversed, but he was discharged from the hospital without staff recognizing the injury, the attorneys said.

“This case, like all medical malpractice cases, was incredibly sad because Mr. Chifalo will never fully recover what he lost,” Woodruff said in the statement.

The decision came after a nine-day jury trial regarding events at Parkview Medical Center on Feb. 11, 2016. Woodruff presented evidence in Pueblo County District Court that Chifalo, who was 63 at the time, suffered injury to his spinal cord when he fell and struck his face on furniture.

Suspects allegedly beat one victim, shoot a second during robbery.

Adams County sheriff’s deputies are searching for two men accused of beating one person and shooting a second person in the stomach during a robbery outside the Valli-Hi Motel.

The shooting happened at 9:45 p.m. Sunday outside the motel in the 7300 block of Pecos Street in unincorporated Adams County, said Sgt. Paul Gregory, spokesman for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

When deputies arrived at the shooting scene, they found one person suffering from an assault and a second person with a gunshot wound to the torso, according to a news release.

An investigation revealed that the violence erupted during an attempted robbery, Gregory said. Two men ran from the scene of the robbery, he said.

The victims were taken to Denver Health Medical Center for treatment.

Anyone with information that could help solve the case are asked to call deputies at 720-322-1313.

Fatal shooting of woman, 25, ruled a homicide.

The Denver coroner’s office has determined that the death of a 25-year-old woman last Wednesday was a homicide and that the cause of death was gunshot wounds.

Khadijah Palmer was shot Wednesday night in the 3000 block of North Adams Street, according to a news release from Steven Castro, spokesman for the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.

Palmer was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, Castro wrote in the news release Monday.

At 11:25 p.m., coroner’s office staff members responded to the hospital. The cause of death was an undisclosed number of gunshot wounds and the manner of death was determined to be a homicide, Castro wrote.

Uber driver found guilty of sexually assaulting female passenger during ride.

An Arapahoe County jury found a 64-year-old Uber driver guilty of sexually assaulting a 29-yearold female passenger during a ride share to her home, authorities say.

Bashir Alsayed Hassan, is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 1 on the misdemeanor count, according to a news release by Vikki Migoya, spokeswoman for District Attorney George Brauchler. Hassan could get up to two years in jail.

“Here, a predator used his position as a driver providing an important service, relied upon by many in our community, to try to satisfy his sexual urges. The jury agreed that we will not tolerate this outrageous and criminal behavior,” Brauchler said in a statement.

On Nov. 16, 2017, Hassan picked up the woman who called for an Uber ride home. After getting fast food, Hassan stopped the car and asked her to move to the back seat so he could pick up other passengers, Migoya wrote. As she maneuvered between the front seats to the back, Hassan fondled her breasts, groped her buttocks and put his fingers inside her vagina, the news release says.

“The victim repeatedly told him no and tried to kick him off, but he did not relent,” Migoya wrote.