On Tuesday, a California jury issued its verdict in favor of the victim in a horrible case of medical negligence. In Morad v. Tourah, the physician, Dr. Tourah erroneously performed a routine gallbladder operation on a Medi-Cal recipient. However, after discovering his errors, rather than treating the patient himself, the board certified surgeon drove the patient to USC County Hospital and dropped her off in front of the ER. The jury awarded the patient $395,000.
Sadly, many cases of medical negligence in the Stockton area and throughout California occur in the ER. As reported by the Institute of Medicine, the hospital location with the highest proportion of negligent medical events is the emergency room - with 52.6% of all hospital negligence http://www.centerjd.org.ER_victims.pdf Many times, the emergency rooms are already crowded due in part to the fact that the uninsured often choose the ER as the place to go for general health care. However, when negligence occurs, many are left without real recourse as a result of California's severe caps on damages.
As a California medical malpractice attorney I am hopeful that recent health care reform will provide much needed relief to California's overcrowded emergency rooms. By providing health care to a significant number of California's uninsured, the burden on our emergency rooms should lessen, and hopefully decrease the rate of ER negligence.
If you or someone you love has suffered as the result of medical negligence, for more information please contact the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette.
