Facts

Scott Campbell began treating with Dr. David Sullivan in 1998. Sullivan was an internist at Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in Baldwin Hills. Campbell was overweight and suffered from hypertension and elevated cholesterol. He underwent a treadmill stress EKG in November 2008. The test was read as negative by Dr. Mark Speakman, a cardiologist.

Six months later, Campbell began having chest pain when resting and during exertion. He was seen by Dr. Tin Tran, another internist at Kaiser. Tran read the EKG report and determined it was normal, and decided that the chest pain was of a muscular and not of cardiac origin. That night, Campbell suffered a fatal heart attack.

Campbell was survived by his wife and son. The survivors sued Kaiser.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The survivors alleged medical malpractice for failing to prescribe medication which would lower cholesterol and reduce plaque build-up, diagnose the coronary artery disease after the failed EKG reading, and failing to recognize an impending heart attack.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Kaiser maintained that its care was within the standard of care.

Settlement Discussions

The case proceeded to arbitration after Kaiser refused to discuss a settlement.

Injuries

Campbell died from a heart attack. His survivors claimed that he suffered from untreated heart disease. They sought wrongful death damages.

Result

The arbitrator found Sullivan was negligent in his care by not prescribing statins, and Speakman was negligent in reading the positive EKG as negative, both resulting in Campbell's fatal heart attack. The arbitrator found Tran was not negligent in his evaluation of Campbell's chest pain. Campbell's survivors were awarded $1,417,999 in total damages, reduced by 25 percent due to Campbell's contributory negligence in neglecting his health by smoking and unhealthy eating. The survivors' net award was $1,064,080.