The Offspring’s Former Drummer Is Now a Doctor and He Saved a Juror During His Malpractice Trial
March 30, 2018The Offspring’s former drummer saved the life of a potential juror in his medical malpractice case on Tuesday after the man collapsed in court.
Dr. James Lilja was a founding member of the punk band, playing the drums before leaving the band in the ’80 to become an OB-GYN. (The photo above is a recent shot of the group taken long after his departure.)
On Tuesday, he was appearing before the Alameda County Superior Court in California to face claims filed against him by John and Stephenie Sargiotto, who allege Lilja was negligent when he treated her, SFGate reports.
But as the jury pool was being selected, a potential juror went into cardiac arrest, hitting his head and losing consciousness. Lilja jumped to action and performed CPR, according to LAW360.
The former drummer, along with his nurse assistant, also gave the man shocks with a defibrillator until paramedics were able to transport him to the hospital, the outlet reports.
In the wake of the dramatic start, the Sargiotto’s attorney asked the judge presiding over the case to order a mistrial, to avoid any bias toward Lilja by the other potential jurors who witnessed his life-saving actions, LAW360 reports.
The judge agreed and now Lilja’s new court date is April 2.
Lilja’s attorney, Barry C. Marsh, and his practice, Bay Area Gynecology Oncology, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“No good deed goes unpunished,” Lilja was overheard saying when the mistrial was ordered, according to the outlet.
Lilja was one of the founding members of The Offspring, performing the band’s debut single “I’ll Be Waiting” and cowriting a song called “Beheaded.”
He graduated from UCLA in 1988 with a degree in microbiology. Frontman Dexter Holland wrote about Lilja in a blog post in 2007, describing him as “dying to get into medical school.”
“In fact, 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!” Holland wrote.
He explained how he and Lilja wrote “Beheaded,” both of them laughing over the lyrics. Holland wrote, “Little did I know that day that we’d still be playing that song ten years later.”
“And James? Yes, he got into medical school, and believe it or not, he’s now a gynecologist! I hope his patients don’t find out that he once helped write a song called ‘Beheaded’!”