In the News: This case was covered by The Stockton Record.

In a recent settlement, Minami Tamaki LLP Senior Counsel B. Mark Fong and Associate Ember Oparowski secured a $650,000 settlement for the wrongful death of a 78-year-old disabled man in San Joaquin County.

The man suffered a head injury in a motor vehicle accident and subsequently died two days later due to intracranial bleeding that went undetected due to negligent medical care. He had been admitted to the Emergency Department of San Joaquin General Hospital with signs of a head injury, but neither the physician nor the hospital staff ordered a head CT scan, which was required by the standard of care and would have detected his brain bleed.

The case became more challenging when the patient's wife, who was the main plaintiff, died during the litigation. This limited the amount of money damages that could be awarded to the patient's family.

We successfully argued there were two statutory “pots“ of damages available to them under California's MICRA law, which limits noneconomic damages to $550,000 for wrongful death claims against healthcare providers. Doing so allowed us to secure a settlement that exceeded the $550,000 limit the County claimed was available.

Securing compensation for elderly victims presents unique difficulties, especially in assessing noneconomic losses such as emotional distress and loss of companionship. Despite these challenges, our team successfully held the county and the doctor accountable for their negligent treatment of this senior.