A jury awarded nearly $2.4 million yesterday to the father of a Bergen County teenager who died when he received "negligent" hospital care after being kicked in the neck by his mother.

"It's an odd feeling," said Chris Calbi, whose son, 14-year-old Matt, of Old Tappan, died in August 2003. "It's a good deal of money. It's a vindication. But it also brings to mind our loss, and you can't put a dollar amount on that."

The Superior Court jury in Hackensack found that Matt Calbi who was taken to Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood after a violent argument with his mother - died because the emergency room doctor was negligent.

Chris Calbi's attorney, Lewis Stein, said X-rays showed the boy was suffering from life-threatening injuries, but the emergency-room doctor took no urgent action.

"As a result, the boy bled to death," Stein said.

The award, which totals $2,387,500, is against the emergency-room doctor, Kenneth Cartaxo. Cartaxo's attorney, John Dughi, did not return a phone call yesterday.

The jury found no negligence on the part of Dr. Roxana Kline, who operated on Matt Calbi before he died.

Lewis said the hospital was also sued, but the claim was eventually dismissed.

Matt Calbi's mother, Linda, was charged with the murder of her son, but the charges were reduced to aggravated assault after a series of medical reports blamed hospital staff for the boy's death.

Those reports, which were presented to a Bergen County grand jury that downgraded the charges, show Matt Calbi first called 911 and complained of pain in his right arm and shoulder.

He was then taken to Pascack, where doctors noticed his swollen neck and ordered an X-ray. The results showed the boy was hemorrhaging from a broken artery in his neck.

The teen was later flown to Westchester Medical Center in New York State. He died hours later on an operating table, having lost more than half of his blood to internal bleeding, the reports show.

Linda Calbi later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to three years in prison. She was released in November 2008, according to the state Department of Corrections.

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Kibret Markos writes for the Record. He may be reached at markos@northjersey.com