Facts

On Sept. 25, 2006, Robert Dugan was admitted to Kaiser Woodland Hills Hospital. During his admission, he was thought to have a pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis. He was placed on Lovenox, an anticoagulant. The Lovenox contributed to a brain hemorrhage eight days later.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff contended that Kaiser's critical care doctor fell below the standard of care when he placed plaintiff on Lovenox. There were not enough clinical signs of pulmonary embolism to justify administering Lovenox, and no tests were ordered to confirm the diagnosis. He had a superficial vein thrombosis, not a deep vein thrombosis.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Kaiser claimed it acted within the standard of care. Kaiser claimed there were clinical signs of pulmonary embolism that justified administering Lovenox in light of a documented thrombosis. Kaiser could not order a CT angiogram to rule out a pulmonary embolism because the patient was on a ventilator.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiff demanded $1 million. The defendant made a C.C.P. section 998 offer of $350,000.

Specials in Evidence

$700,000

Injuries

Dugan hemorrhaged in three locations in his brain leaving him with right-sided paralysis.

Result

The arbitrator found Kaiser 100 percent negligent and awarded Robert Dugan $775,000 ($525,000 economic; $250,000 non-economic).