$1.6 Million Awarded to 13 Patients of Convicted Dentist
October 08, 1992|MARLA CONE | TIMES STAFF WRITER
Thirteen patients of a Costa Mesa dentist who was convicted in 1984 of murdering three patients were awarded $1.6 million in damages Wednesday to be paid by a state insurance association, according to their attorney.
Dr. Tony Protopappas was convicted of three counts of second-degree murder after two women and a teen-age girl died during a five-month period from lethal doses of general anesthesia he administered during routine dental work. He is serving a 15-year term at a state prison.
The $1 million in damages and $600,000 in interest awarded Wednesday is in addition to $500,000 the plaintiffs were awarded from insurers in 1987, said their attorney, William Humphreys of the Santa Ana law firm of Horton, Barbaro & Reilly.
After Protopappas' arrest, his dental firm as well as his insurance company went bankrupt, so the claims were sent to the California Insurance Guaranty Assn., which is a statewide fund created by insurers to handle claims of companies that go bankrupt.
