No closure or justice in doctor's manslaughter plea, says grieving Oxnard mother
Judy Gorcey sat at the front of a Chula Vista courtroom holding her daughter’s photo, tissues tucked in her purse.
Megan Espinoza died in January 2019, more than a month after her heart stopped during breast implant surgery in Bonita. The 36-year-old woman raised in Oxnard never regained consciousness after surgery.
The surgeon, Dr. Carlos Chacon, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Monday as Gorcey and her husband, David Gorcey, watched. The plastic surgeon agreed to a three-year sentence in prison and the permanent suspension of his medical license. He had previously been charged with second-degree murder.
“This case has been ongoing for six years,” Chacon's lawyer, Marc Carlos, said in a statement released after the plea. “Nothing can replace the life of Megan Espinoza. By entering into a plea, Dr. Chacon has accepted his role in the outcome. He wants Ms. Espinoza's family to have closure as well as his own.”
Gorcey, 74, who still lives in Oxnard, said there is no closure. There never will be. Judy Gorcey held her daughter’s picture, taken weeks before the surgery, to send a message.
“I wanted the court to know it’s more than just a name. It was a person,” she said.
Megan Espinoza was a kindergarten teacher and a born organizer who put together reunion gatherings for her and her friends. She met her husband, Moises Espinoza, when they were both students at Oxnard High School. They lived in Chula Vista with their two sons.
After Megan died, Moises Espinoza and the boys moved to Oxnard to be closer to their families.
The surgery happened Dec. 19, 2018. Prosecutors said Chacon didn’t use an anesthesiologist. Instead, a nurse not certified in anesthesiology administered drugs to sedate Espinoza. They said that when problems emerged the doctor waited about three hours after starting CPR to call 911. Prosecutors said he ordered other employees not to make the call and tried to resuscitate her without the help of paramedics.
David Rosenberg, an attorney for Chacon, told The Times of San Diego 911 wasn't immediately called because the patient’s oxygen levels and pulse were within normal limits. The doctor was charged with manslaughter and then later with second-degree murder. Carlos, who also represents Chacon, didn't respond to requests for comment, sending only the statement released after the plea.
Nearly six years of grief and legal proceedings have turned Judy Gorcey, 74, into an advocate who wants the Medical Board of California to discipline doctors more quickly. She wants changes that prohibit doctors who face criminal charges from practicing and more rules to make sure patients know of any criminal accusations. She wants mandates that require outpatient surgery centers to use an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist.
A day after the hearing, Gorcey said she was glad Chacon will no longer be able to practice but was disappointed prosecutors accepted manslaughter instead of a murder sentence that could have brought 15 years to life in prison.
She praised prosecutors for taking on the case but noted the doctor will likely spend less than three years in prison.
“It was kind of like a sucker punch,” she said, her voice breaking just as it did immediately after the hearing. “The old adage is that time heals all wounds This one has not healed. I don't think it will ever will.”
Heather Lang Vass, a nurse in the Espinoza surgery, has already pleaded to involuntary manslaughter. She and Chacon are both set to be sentenced on Sept. 20. Gorcey plans to make a victim’s statement in court.
“I’ll say the sentence is too short,” she said. “(Chacon) gave Megan the death penalty. He gave us the life sentence of pain and grief.”
She’ll bring her daughter’s photo with her.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Dr. Carlos Chacon guilty plea gives grieving mom no closure
