Bomberger recently won a $20 million medical malpractice settlement for a young child who suffered a brain injury due to the negligence of a California medical facility. The terms of the deal require the names of the plaintiff and defendant to remain confidential. But Bomberger said it was the highest settlement in state history for a medical malpractice case. "There's not been one even close," he said.
The case involved inpatient care for the child. "The defense thought at first because the child was born prematurely that could be a cause of the injury," said Bomberger. "But after discovery, those defenses were squelched."
With the litigation, the human side struck Bomberger. "The family was stable before this happened," he said. "Dad lived in Mexico. The mom worked for a medical billing company, and her two other daughters were involved in dance. All that had to be put on hold. It is so difficult to have a child with a brain injury. At first, when this happened, she couldn't stop working because she had to pay someone to stay with the child. Then that became too expensive. It was a real Hobson's choice."
Bomberger said that with the medical facility's defenses out of the way, the case became a question of future care costs. To keep the value low, the defense minimized the staffing level the child would need. "They said someone even lower than a certified nursing assistant could do the work, but that was wrong," Bomberger said. "I had a pediatric neurologist from Stanford, an expert on seizure disorder, look at the child's prognosis," he said. "He had done both plaintiffs and defense work, and he had a lot of credibility. He testified to the possible complications the child could suffer, leading to the need for a high level of care." Bomberger negotiated a separate $250,000 settlement for the mother's pain and suffering.
Now, because of the settlement, the mother can afford the care the child needs. "She is able to afford a bigger house with a specialized room," Bomberger said. "She actually gets a break in her day. It's nice, because the mom is so happy now. We became close working on the case. I talk with her often. I only take a few cases a year. I get to know the people I represent. This is the kind of thing I went to law school for. I don't walk into a depo and meet my client for the first time."
- John Roemer
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