Confidential
Settlement – $462,500Court
L.A. Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Facts
Plaintiff is a 29 year old heavy equipment operator, with a pre-existing prosthetic aortic valve, who was married and with infants, age 2 and 4 months, averaging $50,000 per year in earnings. On May 28, 1994, after three days of fever, chills, night sweats and fatigue, he went for an examination by a medical doctor at the Urgent Care Center of a medical group. The doctor who examined him was completing his third year of residency in internal medicine and covering for fulll time staff doctors on the weekend at the Urgent Care Center. The doctor was shown a written warning from a family doctor at Children's Hospital, stating that plaintiff was at risk for bacterial endocarditis because of his prosthetic aortic valve. The defendant doctor diagnosed a simple virus and told the plaintiff to return in week if Tylenol, rest and fluids did not bring improvement. Two days later, plaintiff continued to experience the symptoms and was driven to Children's Hospital by his father, where he was still undergoing annual cardiology examinations as a follow-up to the original prosthetic aortic valve emplaced at age 13. The doctors immediately took blood cultures, did a TTE and diagnosed Staph Aureus bacterial endocarditis, which is a rapidly fatal disease if untreated with vigorous IV antibiotics. Because plaintiff was an adult, he was immediately transferred to USC University Hospital, where the diagnosis was confirmed. The original plan was six weeks of IV antibiotics, with the possibility of replacement of the prosthetic aortic valve if the disease did not clear. Two days later, because of symptoms of complete heart block and a positive TEE, he was rushed to surgery, where the aortic valve was replaced and perforation in the septum was repaired. By then, the tricuspid and mitral valves had been infected and damaged by the S. Aureus, requiring their future replacement because of heavy leakage. The plaintiff's hospital course was stormy because of the advanced condition of the S. Aureus and he underwent a reopening of the sternum twenty-five days later to remove further infection. Plaintiff remained on IV antibiotics steadily from May 30, 1994, when started at Children's Hospital, until September 12, 1994. He had one relapsed, which required a return to the Hospital when blood cultures revealed active S. Aureus in the bloodstream between July 30 and August 13, 1994. The plan of the doctors was to get the plaintiff strong enough to replace the tricuspid and mitral valves in a further open heart surgery. On Oct. 4, 1994, plaintiff again developed the symptoms described above and was rushed back to the USC University Hospital, and on the afternoon of the admission, suffered a CVA, rsulting in permanent paralysis of the left arm and partial paralysis of the left leg. On Oct. 18, 1994, after stabilization for the CVA, the third open heart surgery successfully replaced the tricuspid and mitral valves and plaintiff has been monitored for those conditions to the present date. In April, 1995, the plaintiff experienced the first of several seizures related to the CVA, which required the lifetime use of Dilantin for control. Aggressive rehabilitation has allowed the plaintiff to walk with orthotic assistance, but he can never return to work. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant based on medical negligence theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $ $999,999. The defendant made no offer.
Specials in Evidence
$999,999; $500,000 (per the plaintiff) $3 million $1 million
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately two years and six months after the case was filed. A 3-day mediation was held before Wallace Reed, Esq. resulting in the reported settlement.
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