Los Angeles County Settles Medical Malpractice Case For $1.175 Million
The L.A. Times reports that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has just approved a $1.175 million settlement in a medical negligence case. The incident occurred at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center after the tip of a catheter punctured a patient’s blood vessel wall.
The patient, Amber Dunn, was treated at the hospital following a car accident in 2008. While doctors were performing a diagnostic procedure, one of her blood vessels was injured, causing additional complications. According to the article, although County officials believe the care provided at the hospital was adequate, they feared losing in court due to the doctrine of “Res Ipsa Loquitor.”
With the literal meaning “the thing speaks for itself,” the doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitor presumes that a person or entity – such as a hospital – is negligent if it has “exclusive control” over what caused the injury, even where you can’t point to a specific negligent act. In simple terms, if a person submits to a medical procedure for one matter and comes out having suffered harm in an unrelated area – something “went wrong” and the health care provider may be liable for negligence. Without showing a specific instance where care fell below the standard, negligence is presumed.
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