Confidential
Settlement – $500,000Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Santa Monica
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Kenneth M. Sigelman
(Kenneth M. Sigelman & Associates)
Defendant
Craig S. Dummit
(Dummit, Buchholz & Trapp)
Facts
In March 1994, the plaintiffs' decedent, a 46-year-old entrepreneur, began seeing the defendant, a licensed doctor who used holistic methods, for treatment of several medical problems, including asthma. On June 17, 1994, the decedent went to see the defendant because she was having particularly severe asthma. Her signs and symptoms at that time were indicative of an acute asthma attack. The defendant prescribed an additional homeopathic remedy for the decedent and sent her home. He did not prescribe any conventional asthma medications, did not perform any tests to measure the decedent's pulmonary function, did not refer her to any other health care provider, and did not advise her as to what to do if her asthma deteriorated further. After leaving the defendant's office, the decedent called him twice that afternoon. The defendant did not speak to the decedent on either occasion. The defendant called the decedent approximately five hours after she left his office. By that time, the decedent's asthma was much worse. The defendant spoke to the decedent for approximately 10 minutes by telephone without advising her to immediately seek emergency medical attention. By the end of the conversation, the decedent lost consciousness. The decedent's husband called the paramedics. By the time the paramedics arrived, the decedent was in full cardiorespiratory arrest. She was transported to Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center where she died on June 19, 1994, as a result of anoxic encephalopathy, secondary to respiratory arrest, secondary to asthma. The decedent's previous medical history was notable for breast cancer for which she had undergone modified radical mastectomy and a six-month course of chemotherapy in 1993. The plaintiffs brought this action against the defendant based on medical negligence and malpractice theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $500,000. The defendant made no settlement offer until the case settled.
Damages
The plaintiffs claimed loss of financial support of nearly $1 million (present cash value). The defendant disputed this claim on the grounds that the decedent's history of breast cancer resulted in a shortened worklife expectancy, and that the business started by the decedent was taken over by the plaintiff husband after the decedent's death, and was more profitable than it had been prior to the decedent's death.
Injuries
Death of wife and mother.
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately one year and six months after the case was filed. The defendant answered in response to Requests for Admissions that with regard to his care and treatment of the decedent he was not acting in the capacity of a licensed health care provider pursuant to the Business and Professions Code. Thereafter, the plaintiffs moved to amend their complaint to state a cause of action for general negligence, and moved for summary adjudication as to all of the defendant's MICRA defenses based upon the admission, since MICRA is only applicable to licensed health care providers. The case settled for the defendant's policy limit while the motions were pending.
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