Facts

On June 20, 2021, Alfredo Hinojosa, a 26-year-old male, presented to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center's ("HUMC") emergency room after a fall from an off-road vehicle. To explore and rule out injury to his internal organs, staff ordered a computed tomography ("CT") scan with contrast. During the procedure, the contrast leaked out of the blood circulation and caused injury to Mr. Hinojosa's right hand. Mr. Hinojosa filed a lawsuit for medical malpractice, alleging HUMC staff were negligent when performing the CT scan imaging study.

The County had difficulty identifying the radiology tech responsible for starting the IV infusion of the contrast medium since he/she had no notes about the procedure. When he was produced for deposition, he denied being involved and had no memory of the incident.

Radiology department policies and protocols require the tech to remain at the patient's side after starting the infusion so he can stop it if there are signs of infiltration. As soon as the tech started the infusion, he left plaintiff's side to go to the computer imaging booth and plaintiff felt immediate burning and his arm swelled. No one stopped the infusion.

Damages

Damages were limited by MICRA.

Result

The case settled for $250,000.