Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and a former surgeon there are accused of causing the death of a patient in a malpractice trial expected to run into next week.

Española electrician Andy Montoya, 74, died Dec. 11, 2005, four days after surgery to unblock his carotid artery.

His children, Andy Montoya Jr. and Anna "Mandy" Montoya-Gonzales, allege that, contrary to post-operative instructions, the head of the father's bed was lowered, causing oxygen deprivation, brain damage and death.

State District Judge Jim Hall has set aside six days for the jury trial that began Tuesday.

On Thursday, La Wana Badiesha, a former intensive-care nurse at the hospital, testified that Lawrence Goldstein, who had performed the surgery, was slow to respond to her concerns about the elder Montoya's belabored breathing. "He was very abrupt with me," she said of Goldstein when she called him at home on the evening after the operation. "I think he was perturbed."

Badiesha, who no longer works at Christus St. Vincent and said the hospital is trying to intimidate her with lawsuits, said she called Goldstein at home several more times during the next few days. But she said Goldstein ordered changes in Montoya's treatment only after she threatened to document it if he failed to do so. "I would say his response was not in a reasonable amount of time," Badiesha said.

Earlier in the day, Christus St. Vincent president and chief executive officer Alex Valdez testified Goldstein's contract was not renewed in 2006. He said this was due to a failure to reach agreement on a performance-based pay scale for Goldstein and issues involving his management of the hospital's vascular lab, but not his performance in the Montoya case.

Valdez, who lives in Española and knows the Montoya family, recalled hearing from Mandy Montoya that she had complaints about her father's treatment at the hospital. He said he invited her, as well as Andy Montoya's brother and sister, to meet with him, but the meeting never occurred.

"We take patient satisfaction seriously," he said. "We need to respond to issues of any nature. ... At times, we are engaged with families in prayer to try to address some of the challenges they face."

The Montoya family is represented by Richard Sandoval of Albuquerque; Christus St. Vincent by William Slattery and David Lawrenz of Santa Fe; and Goldstein by Mary Behm and Kathleen Wilson of Albuquerque.

The case continues today.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.