New Mexico jury returns $13 million verdict in death of 'Star Trek' actor Nichelle Nichols

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | June 5, 2026 | Olivier Uyttebrouck

[CedarDave]

A jury in Silver City awarded a $13 million verdict in a medical malpractice case to the family of Nichelle Nichols, who broke barriers for Black women in Hollywood with her portrayal of Lt. Uhura on the original “Star Trek” television series.

Jurors deliberated about two hours before returning the verdict Thursday against a Grant County hospital where the 89-year-old actor sought treatment in the days before her death in 2022.

Attorneys for the family alleged that employees at Gila Regional Medical Center failed to appropriately diagnose and treat Nichols for symptoms of acute heart failure.

"Miss Nichols came to the hospital for help," said Theresa Hacsi, an attorney for Nichols' family. "She was having a heart attack that was missed. It was a very chaotic environment and what services were available and what were not was chaos."

The suit alleged that the hospital sent Nichols home to an assisted living center, where she died hours later on July 30, 2022.

Officials at Gila Regional Medical Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment this week. GRMC’s attorney, Ryan Clement of Houston, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Nichols was featured in 67 of the 78 episodes of the original “Star Trek,” which aired from 1966 to 1969. She portrayed the smart, professional Lt. Nyota Uhura on the bridge of the starship Enterprise. She and other cast members also appeared in six big-screen spin-offs from 1979 to 1991.

Nichols' family is expected to receive only a fraction of the $13 million jury award, Hacsi said.

Hacsi said $400,000 is the maximum award the family can collect under the state's Tort Claims Act, which regulates hospitals owned by governmental agencies. Because Gila Regional Medical Center is owned by Grant County, the hospital falls under the law, she said.

[CedarDave]

The case is not over. Theresa Hacsi, the family's attorney said a second lawsuit is pending against HealthTech Management Service. That company operated the hospital under contract with Grant County at the time of Nichols' death in 2022. That case, filed in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, is set for trial later this year.

[BAN-ONE]

Killed by obamacare.
Some sad dark irony here.
RIP.

[mairdie]

Star Trek - American Pie - Don McLean - Uhura
https://youtu.be/s33W6g1lqMs

[HartleyMBaldwin]

My wife and I had to use GRMC a few times while we lived in Silver City. Didn’t seem like such a bad hospital compared to some we’ve seen, but I guess malpractice can happen anywhere.

[lee martell]

What is there to even sue about? She was near 90 y/o, she had been ill for a long time. She also had dementia.
This is one of her sons looking for a BIG PAYDAY, just because this lady was a famous actress on a very popular TV show.
$13. Million for ‘malpractice’ is ridiculous.
I hope the health management service countersues.

[zeestephen]

What percentage of the staff was non-white?

Since the law suits do not involve racial discrimination, I will speculate that ALL the people who treated or examined Nichols were non-white.

[wild74]

I agree She was 89 years old She already had one foot on a banana peel and the other and in the grave and still to leave $13 million it wasn’t hers One of her Hopefully it will be over Those kind of lawsuits hurt everybody

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Didn’t she also have a relative involved in the Heavens gate cult? I think she did. If you can believe it, their website is still up almost 30 years later.....

https://www.heavensgate.com/

[MotorCityBuck]

+1