COUNTY BOARD BACKS SETTLING SUITS IN DEATHS AT HOSPITALS.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer To settle separate wrongful-death suits alleging poor care at public hospitals, the Los Angeles County Claims Board recommended on Monday paying nearly $550,000 to the families of two San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. women. The Board of Supervisors will vote Aug. 16 whether to give final approval to the settlements stemming from the deaths of Robin Garcia, 21, of Sun Valley, who died of liver failure liver failure Clinical medicine Liver insufficiency that results in death, requires a liver transplant, or is characterized by recovery after encephalopathy, or while awaiting a transplant; also defined as a condition with ≥ 3 of following: albumin < 3. , and Judith Perez, 20, of Van Nuys, who suffered from an accumulation of fluid on her brain. Documents show Garcia went to the emergency room at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center Olive View-UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. The hospital was founded on October 27, 1920, and is funded by Los Angeles County [1]. in Sylmar on Feb. 17, 2003, complaining of abdominal pain and jaundice jaundice (jôn`dĭs, jän`–), abnormal condition in which the body fluids and tissues, particularly the skin and eyes, take on a yellowish color as a result of an excess of bilirubin. . She was diagnosed with hepatitis and discharged Feb. 20, and given a follow-up appointment for March 10. On Feb. 25, lab results indicated she was suffering from autoimmune hepatitis. She was treated again on March 3, but her condition deteriorated, and she died March 11. ``Medical experts will testify that Mrs. Garcia's liver failure was due to the failure to timely treat her autoimmune hepatitis before March 3,'' Deputy County Counsel Owen L. Gallagher wrote in a report recommending a $350,000 settlement with her family. Perez was first seen May 11, 2003, at a private hospital complaining of a severe headache and dizziness, Gallagher wrote. Hospital personnel determined she was suffering from an accumulation of fluid within her cranial cavity as a result of an infestation infestation /in·fes·ta·tion/ (-fes-ta´shun) parasitic attack or subsistence on the skin and/or its appendages, as by insects, mites, or ticks; sometimes used to denote parasitic invasion of the organs and tissues, as by helminths. of pork tapeworm. She was transferred to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located within the city of Torrance, California, USA. The hospital was founded in 1946, and is funded by Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA serves as the Level I Trauma Center for the South Bay area. in Torrance. Although hospital personnel considered performing surgery the next day to remove the spinal fluid, a decision was made to await the results of an MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. . She died May 14. Gallagher wrote that the county recommended settling for $199,000 because medical experts would be critical of the failure to perform surgery sooner. ``They allowed this poor girl to die without giving her any medical treatment, even though the simplest of medical care would have saved her life,'' said Glendale attorney James P. Collins, who represents her family. Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com |
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