Doctor's Unusual Past Comes Out In Court After Saving A Juror's Life

The Offspring are known for punchy hits like “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” and "Why Don't You Get A Job?" but those songs, and their rise to the spotlight, came in the '90s after Lilja left. He had an earlier role in their timeline, at the band's formation.

Lilja played on their debut single “I’ll Be Waiting” and co-wrote the song “Beheaded." But, after three years with the band, Lilja still had other dreams left to accomplish. He hadn't intended on pursuing music as a career, and he wasn't going to get sidetracked. So in 1987, he walked away.

Lilja gave up the crowded punk venues for medical textbooks, as lead vocalist Dexter Holland wrote in a 2007 blog post, “He was so intent on getting into medical school that he didn’t really even practice with us much — which is part of why he’s not our drummer anymore!”

Lilja earned a degree in microbiology from UCLA, then went onto the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He left school as a fully certified gynecological oncologist and settled in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Lilja opened his own practice treating pre-cancerous conditions and cancer, a far cry from his days of thrashing fans and hectic drums, though he didn't yet know he'd return to the spotlight.

While Lilja has reminders of his punk past, like an occasional autograph or the drumsticks stuck on his bulletin board, he might've thought his wildest tales were behind him. But, Lilja was on the heels of a dramatic shift. In 2018, Lilja was the subject of a lawsuit that changed his career forever — and he also played a major role in a life-defining incident.

In October 2016, a patient named Stephanie Sargiotto and her husband filed a five-page complaint against Lilja. The details of the case are not publically known, but the Sargiottos alleged Doctor Lilja was negligent in the treatment he provided. Two years later, they were set to hash it out in front of a judge and jury.

So in March of 2018, the Sargiottos and their attorney brought their malpractice case to Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, California. Doctor Lilja and his lawyer Barry C. Marsh were prepared for their first day of jury selection, where they probably had to weed out any fans of The Offspring. Before they could screen all the jurors, things went off the rails.

It was day two of jury selection when things went haywire. A group of thirty-plus people waited outside the courtroom, ready to see if they’d be among those chosen to participate in the trial. It’s a naturally nervy situation, but for one individual, events took a frightening turn.

One man among the prospective jurors faced a medical emergency. He suddenly collapsed, and in the process, hit his head. Within seconds, he was lying unresponsive on the floor. Everyone around began to realize what was happening, while time ticked away for the man unconscious on the ground.

The crowd of bystanders immediately took action. Someone dialed 911 while another person ran into the courtroom to alert them to the medical emergency. Pretty quickly, eyes fell to the only doctor present, but he just so happened to be the guy on trial. 

Lilja and his nurse assistant didn’t hesitate. They rushed outside the courtroom to assess the man's vitals. He wasn't breathing and had no pulse. So, they moved right to CPR. Everyone watched as the defendant worked in rhythm with the nurse, compressing the man's chest to keep him alive.

People watched with shock and concern as Lilja and the nurse worked on the unconscious man. Luckily, there was a defibrillator on-site that someone quickly produced. The defendant moved right to applying the pads to the man's chest and cleared the area. Then, Lilja administered two shocks to kickstart his heart.

Low and behold, his heartbeat returned. Paramedics arrived on the scene to transport the man to the hospital. In the aftermath, the courtroom mood was electric. There was no other way to put it: the defendant has just saved a man's life. As you might imagine, that opened up a judicial can of worms.

In the wildest of circumstances, Lilja performed one of the most heroic acts imaginable that could potentially sway a jury. Not to mention, he looked like a real pro. At a minimum, it gave him a morale boost in the eyes of the court. At a maximum, things looked bad for the prosecution.

The image of the defendant swooping in as a savior was a crushing blow to the Sargiottos case. Even without the visual, just looking at the facts — a former punk drummer, turned gynecological oncologist, who went on to save a man's life — Lilja has a tough resume to discredit. Their attorney demanded a mistrial.

Much to the chagrin of Lilja and his lawyer, Judge Ronni MacLaren agreed that the display of heroics had made the bias in that pool of jurors "incurable." A mistrial was granted. Still, the defendant would eventually have to face the music, and he wasn't thrilled about it.

In response to the judge's ruling, Lilja spoke his opinion allowed, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Though, any other outcome wouldn't technically fall under the category of justice. Dismissing the Sargiottos case against Lilja just because he saved a life would be an unethical, controversial, but pretty punk rock ruling. Sadly for him, Judge MacLaren wasn't known for making unusual calls.

The Judge set another trial for Lilja where a new crop of jurors heard his case without being tainted by heroics. If his case had landed in a different court, "creative justice" might've been granted. Instead of fines or losing licensing, some judges dole out punishments that stretch the definition of legal.

It isn't outside the realm of possibility for Ohio Judge Michael Cicconetti to consider life-threatening sentences — it just depends on what the charge is. In the case of Doctor Lilja, if Cicconetti saw the defendant shocking a man's heart back to life, he would call it fair and square.

Medicine and law collide more often than not these days, and in Doctor Lilja's case, we can more or less call it a happy ending. But other people aren't so lucky. In fact, not even famous figures are immune from medical malpractice.

Take the case of comedy legend Gilda Radner. She fell in love with Gene Wilder on the set of Hanky Panky in 1981, and Everyone knew the Emmy-winning SNL member and big-shot Willy Wonka star were meant to be. "There was a chemistry that was palpable and an electricity in the air," Gilda's close friend, Pain Katz, told People. Soon, the flirting got... unprofessional.

"It felt like my life went from back and white to Technicolor," wrote Gilda in her 1989 memoir, It's Always Something. “My heart fluttered — I was hooked." The more Gilda and Gene flirted on set, the harder it became to hide their sexual tension. Gene recalls one hot n' heavy moment.

"Gilda said that I rubbed my crotch against her knee when I asked her if I could bring her some tea or coffee," wrote Gene in his memoir, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art. "When she told me this story, I said, 'You're nuts!' And she said, 'No, they were YOUR nuts.'" Soon, Gilda couldn't take it anymore.

One night, Gilda went for it. She made a move on Gene, which he struggled to resist. The problem? Gilda was a married woman. Not only that, but she was married to Saturday Night Music music director G.E. Smith. If they acted on these urges, they would certainly make headlines. But Gilda was ready for it.

Gilda was already unhappy in her marriage. Just one year after meeting Gene, she signed divorced papers. Gene had been through two divorces himself and was easy for her to talk to. They quickly became inseparable, as the New York Times noted, “All of Mr. Wilder's future plans appear to include Miss Radner.” However, their age gap was becoming problematic.

Gene was 13 years older than Gilda. Wherever he went, she followed. Whatever he enjoyed, she learned to enjoy. "I thought she was a baby," Gene later told Larry King. "She couldn't be without me, do without me.” He would've called it quits, had it not been for an appropriately-placed vomiting dog.

Gilda and her dog, Sparkle, were accompanying Gene on a trip to Paris. At the airport, a stomach-sick Sparkle began to vomit after accidentally ingesting rat poison. Without hesitation, Gilda encouraged Gene to go on without them so she could take Sparkle to urgent care. This affair changed Gene's perspective completely.

Seeing Gilda drop everything to care for her pet was enough to show Gene that Gilda was indeed self-sufficient. He couldn't believe he thought otherwise, considering how much of the world she had introduced to him. When he returned from Paris, Gene popped the big question.

With a huge, French engagement ring in hand, Gene asked Gilda to become his wife. She instantly said yes, more excited than she'd ever been in her first engagement. In September of 1984, the two married in the French Riviera, joined by a now-healthy Sparkle. Their happiness would only last so long before tragedy struck.

“They were constant honeymooners,” a friend of Gilda and Gene told People. “It was fun and infectious to be around them. They were so in love. Both had been married before, and they were very, very happy to have found one another.” Unfortunately, the two lovebirds were struggling to conceive — the first hint of Gilda's illness.

Gilda suffered through two painful miscarriages. Doctors attempted a manual fertilization of her eggs, but that procedure failed as well. They came to the conclusion that Gilda was infertile. The problem was, they didn't ask why. Gilda's condition continued to escalate.

Gilda was suddenly struggling to perform basic activities. She was fatigued and unable to keep her eyes open. When she went back to the doctor, she was told that she had Epstein-Barr virus, similar to mononucleosis. This was their second big mistake, as Gilda's symptoms would soon get even worse.

Gilda's legs began shaking and her stomach was expanding unexpectedly. She was recording high fevers and severe pain. Somehow, the doctors were still unable to find the source of her agony, which frustrated Gene. Gilda was given a mix of painkillers and sent on her way. Gene recalled the painful experience to People.

“In June we went to Paris, and I took her to my favorite bistro," wrote Gene. "After we ate, she started feeling uncomfortable, and the discomfort grew when we went outside walking on the street. She said she had cramps, pains in her tummy, terrible bloating. She lay down and doubled over on the curb while I hollered for a taxi to go back to the hotel.”

Doctors still couldn't find the problem. Some even suggested it was all in Gilda's head, as she was suffering from depression after her miscarriages. They sent her out with antidepressants, telling her to visit a gynecologist, who told her there was nothing to worry about. Gilda jokes about the experiences in her memoir.

“Now I had Epstein-Barr virus and mittelschmerz,” wrote Gilda. "Fitting diseases for the Queen of Neurosis.” After a barrage of useless treatments, Gilda's crippling pain wasn't going anywhere. Deep down, she knew what the cause was, as her father had died from a similar, fatal diagnosis. Finally, her doctors figured it out, too.

Gilda was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. She had suggested cancer to her doctors many times before, but was always shrugged off. But in 1986, just five years after meeting Gene, they discovered a tumor the size of a grapefruit. Gene was furious. He watched helplessly as Gilda faced nine chemo rounds and 30 radiation treatments, only to be met with devastating news.

Gilda's cancer had spread, and there was no way to stop it. Gilda was in denial, protesting any procedures that required her to be knocked out, for fear of not waking back up. One day, Gene assured her everything would be okay when she went under for a CAT scan. Sadly, this was the last time he ever spoke to her.

On May 20th, 1989, Gilda passed at the age of 42. “She looked like an angel," said Gene. "So peaceful. She was still alive, and as she lay there, I kissed her. But then her breathing became irregular, and there were long gaps and little gasps. Two hours after I arrived, Gilda was gone. While she was conscious, I never said goodbye.” Gene went on to honor Gilda's legacy in a magnificent way.