L.A. Board of Supervisors Agrees to Two Malpractice Settlements

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has recently agreed to settle a medical malpractice lawsuit in the amount of $1.5 million. The settlement deal, which was announced on May 12, 2015, is the second such arrangement made recently. The Board of Supervisors also agreed to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement to a man who became paralyzed following allegedly negligent medical care.

Both of these lawsuits concerned treatments received at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center, commonly referred to as County/USC. The healthcare facility is a public teaching hospital in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of L.A. that is operated jointly by the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (Medi-Cal).

Surgical errors during gallbladder procedure

The most recent settlement resolves the case of Dulce Castillo v. County of Los Angeles. The Board agreed to pay the plaintiff $1.5 million for damages, plus the assumption of her Medi-Cal lien, which is estimated to be $94,280.

Ms. Castillo had filed her lawsuit on January 7, 2013 in the Los Angeles Superior Court – Central District. The incident that prompted the complaint took place on October 31, 2011. Ms. Castillo had been admitted to County/USC for a laparoscopic procedure to remove her gallstones. She suffered serious complications when the surgeon severed two iliac veins. Subsequently, the plaintiff required more extensive medical treatment to address this complication.

Additionally, Ms. Castillo complained of ongoing medical problems after her surgery, including depression and deep vein thrombosis. Deep vein thrombosis is a potentially life-threatening condition that involves the formation of blood clots, typically in the deep veins in the legs. If blood clots are not detected and treated in time, it is possible for them to become dislodged from the vein in which they formed. From there, they could travel in the bloodstream to critical organs, including the lungs, heart, and brain, resulting in pulmonary embolism, heart attack, or stroke, respectively.

The Board of Supervisors agreed to the proposed medical malpractice settlement without comment.

Delayed diagnosis led to paralysis

The Board also agreed to settle a med mal case filed by Justin Malone. The plaintiff, a then-27-year-old hardwood floor installer, was involved in a motorcycle crash. The September 2010 accident in the San Fernando Valley resulted in the rupturing of his aorta. He received medical care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, at which time his ruptured aorta was repaired using a stent-graft.

On October 19, 2011, the plaintiff was playing basketball when he suddenly collapsed. He was admitted to the ER at County/USC, where he was described as “screaming in pain” with impaired sensation in the lower limbs. He was hospitalized at County/USC and steadily declined over the next two days. Then, doctors at County/USC found that there was a blood clot in his stent that inhibited blood flow to the lower body. Although the doctors were able to surgically repair the stent, the delayed diagnosis cost the patient the use of his lower body.

The plaintiff, who is permanently paralyzed, requires lifelong care and assistance with daily living activities. The Board of Supervised agreed to pay $4.5 million. Additionally, the county has waived Malone’s medical bills in the amount of approximately $790,000 and it has agreed to assume the amount Malone would have been expected to pay Medi-Cal, which totaled $200,000.

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