Wrongful Death | Dolan Law Firm

Johnson v Cedars-Sinai Medical Center: Equal Access to Businesses and Services

Los Angeles Hospital Sued for Racism and Wrongful Death

On May 5, 2022, Chris Dolan and legal team of lawyers filed a lawsuit against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Case #: 22STCV14868) for failing to provide Equal Access to businesses and services for the wrongful death of Kira Johnson.

Christopher B. Dolan says, “to gain access equally to businesses and services despite race, national origin, and any other discriminatory characteristic… we are using a lawsuit.”

The lawsuit describes that despite signs of Kira Johnson bleeding internally and over the desperate pleas of her husband, she languished for hours without being readmitted to the operating room.

Nick Rowley, attorney, and member of the legal team, says Kira Johnson died from internal bleeding — nearly 90% of her blood was later found in her stomach. Her bladder had been lacerated and she hadn’t been sutured properly.

Charles Johnson IV said that “there is no doubt in my mind that my wife would be here today and be here Sunday celebrating Mother’s Day with her boys if she was a Caucasian woman.”

For more information on the lawsuit see video or stories below:

Press Release Video:

Complaint:

Johnson v. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Complaint

Stories:

Written By Christopher Dolan and Casey Hultin

This week’s question comes from Pam from San Mateo:

A good friend of mine’s child recently passed away. My friend believes that a doctor’s error caused her child’s death. Do you have any advice? How can the doctor be held accountable?

Dear Pam,

I am so sorry to hear your friend is going through this. What you are describing is called medical negligence or medical malpractice. Medical error is far too common and hundreds of thousands of Americans die each year as a result. Unfortunately, in the state of California, the options for recovery for the errors of medical providers and the ability to hold them accountable is extremely limited because of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, otherwise known as “MICRA”.

MICRA was signed into law in 1975 and limits compensation for what are called “non-economic” damages, including things like pain and suffering and wrongful death damages for the loss of a loved one such as a parent, child, or spouse, or other impacts on quality of life such as the loss of a limb or cognitive function. MICRA limited the maximum recovery for non-economic damages for preventable medical negligence at no more than $250,000. This amount has not changed since 1975. With inflation, the $250,000 cap now would equate to approximately $50,000 in 1975. Roughly speaking, had this cap kept up with inflation, the cap would now be approximately $1.2 million.

Medical malpractice cases are long and difficult and often require the retention of expert witnesses. Costs to successfully hold a medical services provider accountable for negligence can exceed $100,000. While there are ways to potentially recover these costs through a jury trial, doing so is time consuming, stressful, and not a guarantee. As a result, there are not many lawyers that take on these cases, nor is this often something that people potentially want to pursue because of the small amount of net recovery once litigation costs and attorney fees are paid. Many plaintiffs go through multiple years of stressful, invasive litigation in medical malpractice cases. Medical malpractice cases are more costly than other personal injury cases such as automobile accidents, because defense attorneys and the insurance companies paying for them will take as many steps as possible to whittle down the already smaller pot for recovery. Jurors who decide these cases are not informed of the cap, and only find out after the verdict that the plaintiff’s recovery is limited to $250,000.

While your friend is thinking through whether to pursue a medical malpractice case, it is important to remember that there is a one-year statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims in California. The clock begins running when the plaintiff knew or had reason to know of the medical malpractice. This determination is case specific and not always easy to determine. If you are ever considering bringing a medical malpractice case, it is important to have your case evaluated as soon as possible. Evaluation of your case by a medical malpractice attorney also often involves an initial review of all available medical records by a doctor or other expert, so gathering all the medical records from the treatment at issue as expeditiously as possible will also help.

Economic damages are still recoverable under MICRA. Unfortunately, for the death of a child or someone who is not employed, economic damages will be relatively minimal, essentially limited to funeral expenses. When the injured person survives and has ongoing medical expenses related to the doctor’s error, the injured person can also recover for those medical expenses, with some limitations.

Another important thing to note about MICRA is that MICRA does not just limit what most people think of as medical malpractice, it also impacts recovery against other health care providers such as massage therapists.

California voters will have the opportunity to change the law in the November 2022 election when the Fairness for Injured Patients Act is on the ballot. The Fairness for Injured Patients Act will adjust for inflation the maximum $250,000 compensation cap set on quality of life and wrongful death survivor damages to approximately $1.2 million. It will also allow judges and jurors to decide that compensation above the cap is appropriate in the cases of catastrophic injury or death. Jurors will also be informed of the cap. Additionally, the Fairness for Injured Patients Act will adjust the limitations on economic damages recovery for medical malpractice cases so that insurance companies cannot shift the costs back onto parties that are not at fault.

Additionally, the Fairness for Injured Patients Act will extend the time to bring a claim for medical malpractice to two years instead of one year, which is more in line with the time to bring a claim for other personal injury causes of action.

I am again so sorry for your friend’s loss. They are lucky to have a friend like you supporting them in their time of need.

Thank you, California Lawyer, for this honor. On December 2, 2016, there was a music and art event in an old warehouse in Oakland. This “artist colony” was an unpermitted space where people were living, and “happenings” took place. About 50-60 people were present when, at around 11:20 p.m., a fire broke out. The building, filled with pianos, wood carvings, tapestries and other combustibles rapidly fed the hungry fire and 36 bright, young, promising free spirited souls were overcome with toxic smoke, couldn’t find their way out through the unlit and unmarked exits, and died in what has become known as the “Ghostship fire.”

Many of the finest lawyers throughout California, who were approached for representation, said there was no way to hold the City of Oakland and PG&E accountable, and turned these cases down. We were undeterred and willing to take on the fight even if they said we couldn’t win. These 36 young adults at the threshold of their lives, along with their grieving families, called out for justice and accountability and we took that call.

This case required all my life experience, education, and decades of “figuring it out.” As a young man, I worked dirty, hot, tiring jobs in construction to fund my studies. As a young lawyer, I renovated two old San Francisco buildings including our Market Street headquarters, learning about electrical systems, transformers, voltage drop, metering, and building/electric codes involved in old buildings. So much of what I bring to the table is practical knowledge. Mary Alexander and I literally dug through the rubble and I used “old school” methods to understand and map out the faulty electrical services. Using my Georgetown Law degree, I “went into the rabbit hole” for 2 solid weeks and researched the s#!t out of the Oakland Municipal Code, State Fire Code, and CPUC regulations to develop the Complaint against the City and PG&E with Bob Bale. Tom Brandi and Brian Malloy used their decades of public entity law knowledge to doggedly drive the case against the City with several arduous, but successful, trips to the court of appeals.

Mary, Bob, Brendan Way, and I relentlessly pursued PG&E through multiple depositions, and a mountain of documents. Eventually, we found a few key documents, with a few critical sentences, to support our allegations that PG&E had violated the CPUC regulations and knew that multiple businesses were drawing too much power through one meter, making the piecework, often un-permitted, electrical system a tragedy waiting to happen.
I was able to focus our energies, using my practical knowledge, to pull these facts from the ashes and build a case with these great lawyers, and many others, including Bobby Thompson, Sophia Acherman, Jennifer Fiore, and Sandra Ribera-Speed. The Executive Committee, Mary, Tom, Bob, Bobby, and I, never considered defeat an option and, in the end, we honored these 36 beautiful lives, and their families, through accountability. We did what they said couldn’t be done. As Margaret Mead said, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Written by: Christopher B. Dolan and Jeremy M. Jessup

This week’s question comes from Mr. Martin from San Carlos who asks:
Q: A number of years ago my daughter passed away, and my wife and I were left to raise my grandson, because the child’s father has been out of the picture since birth. Recently, tragedy struck our family again and my grandson, who was a minor, was killed in an automobile accident, caused by another person. I have been trying to bring a wrongful death lawsuit but keep being told I cannot sue. Is this correct?

A: Dear Mr. Martin,

Firstly, I am sorry to read about your losses, my condolences to you and yours as you go through these difficult times. Dealing with the death of a loved one can be devastating. On top of that, there may be many medical costs, funeral costs, and other expenses when facing an unexpected passing of someone close. As for the right to bring a wrongful death suit by you and your wife, this is not as cut and dried as one would think.

Only certain individuals are allowed to bring a wrongful death claim after a negligence-related death in California. Formerly, only biological or adoptive parents could sue (“had standing”) in California for a son or daughter’s wrongful death. Under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60, a cause of action for the death of a person caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another may be asserted by any of the following persons or by the decedent’s personal representative on their behalf:

The decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children, of, if there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the persons, including the surviving spouse or domestic partner, who would be entitled to the property of the decedent by intestate succession.
Whether or not qualified under subdivision (a), if they were dependent on the decedent, the putative spouse, children of the putative spouse, stepchildren, or parents.
A minor, whether or not qualified under subdivision (a) or (b), if, at the time of the decedent’s death, the minor resided for the previous 180 days in the decedent’s household and was dependent on the decedent for one-half or more of the minor’s support.

In fact, it was previously held that a person who was not a natural parent had no right to sue for an unadopted child’s wrongful death, even if an adoption process was in progress [Reynolds v. City of Los Angeles (1986) 176 Cal.App.3d 1044, 1052-1053 — “the Reynoldses were neither the natural parent(s) of Samuel nor did they ever conclude formal adoption proceedings.”]

Those person(s) who qualify under categories (a-c) of the California Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60 can recover both economic and non-economic damages for their loss. These losses included, but are not limited to the following:

The loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support provided by decedent;
The loss of gifts or benefits that could have expected to receive;
Funeral and burial expenses; and
The reasonable value of household services that the child would have provided.

However, California Assembly Bill 2445, signed into law in September by Gov. Newsom, amends CCP 377.60 to now allow legal guardians to sue for wrongful death in appropriate circumstances. The new language of CCP 377.60 includes:

“[i]f the parents of the decedent would be entitled to bring an action under this subdivision, and the parents are deceased, then the legal guardians of the decedent, if any, may bring an action under this subdivision as if they were the decedent’s parents.”

As before, a decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and children of any deceased child continue to have standing under the wrongful death statute.

The new law, which went into effect September 10, 2020 now allows legal guardians to pursue wrongful death cases on behalf of minors as if they were the parents, provided the parents are deceased. The law was introduced as an emergency measure to prevent the statute of limitations from running for a Moreno Valley couple who raised their nephew after his biological parents died.

In your case, it would appear that whether or not you and your wife have standing may come down to whether or not your grandson’s father is still around. Unfortunately, because the law is so new in this area, it is unknown if the courts will view a parent that has essentially abandoned their child, in the same light as a parent who is deceased.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CLAIM FILED AGAINST U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR TRANSGENDER IMMIGRANT’S DEATH

PRESS CONFERENCE: June 12, 2019, 1:00 p.m., Dolan Law Firm, 1438 Market Street, San Francisco, CA.

On June 11, 2019, the family of Johana Medina Leon filed a claim against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security for denying her civil rights and thereby causing her death while she was being detained after crossing into the United States. In December of 2018, Johana, an El Salvadorian National, was threatened with physical violence based on her transgender status. She fled El Salvador in fear for her life to Mexico where she received a Humanitarian Visa. With her visa she traveled to an asylum center in Juarez, Mexico. While in Juarez, Johana was assigned a number for an appointment with the Customs and Boarder Control, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security where she sought asylum. Her fear of persecution was found to be credible and she was detained pending a hearing. Although she was given a court date, The CPB questioned her transgender status, as she had male genitalia, and housed her with males. Unlike other transwomen, she was not paroled pending a future court date and was, instead, sent to the ICE Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico.

Soon after arriving at Otero, Johana’s health rapidly deteriorated. Having been trained and employed as a nurse in El Salvador, she recognized that she needed IV fluids but her request for treatment was denied. She asked for water, sugar and salt so she could prepare her own IV but that request too was denied. In April and May Johana’s condition got progressively worse and, since she was being denied care, she asked to be deported so she could receive treatment. Her request was ignored, and her condition continued to deteriorate. On May 15, 2019, Johana appeared before a U.S. Magistrate to present her case for asylum where she was told that she would receive a decision in 8 days, and she was returned to ICE custody. On May 20th she spoke with her boyfriend in El Salvador and reported that her requests for treatment had been denied. On May 23 or 24, 2019, Johana was found unconscious and was taken by ICE to the Del Sol Medical Center Hospital in El Paso, TX. ICE apparently granted her release on her own recognizance right before she was dropped at the hospital. Over the next several days, Johana spoke with her boyfriend and family members reporting that her condition was worsening. On June 1, 2019, Johana’s family was notified that she had died as a result of pneumonia.

Johana’s family claims that the Government, in violation of Johana’s civil rights, negligently managed her care because of her nationality, her seeking asylum, and her transgender status; thereby causing her death.

Christopher Dolan, the family’s attorney, based in California, stated :“On the Statue of Liberty there is a famous poem by Emma Lazarus, known by all Americans, which states in part, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me . . .” The Trump Administration seems to have re- written the poem, to say “. . .and I will send them back abused, terrorized and dead.” Johana deserved to be protected by this Country as a human being seeking asylum. Instead, she was detained, humiliated, mistreated, and dumped at a hospital where she was not on the threshold of liberty; but, instead, on death’s door. We will get to the truth and hold this Government accountable for its callous disregard of Johana.

A representative of Johana’s family will be present via Skype, from El Salvador, to answer questions.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT CHRIS DOLAN at 415-279-2604 or presscontact@dolanlawfirm.com

For access to the press conference via video conference go to: https://zoom.us/j/878557725

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JAHI MCMATH HAS DIED IN NEW JERSEY

On June 22nd, 2018, Jahi Kelis McMath died peacefully in the presence of her mother Nailah and step father Marvin in a hospital in New Jersey. Jahi died as the result of complications associated with liver failure. Jahi had been living at home, with her mother Nailah Winkfield, her stepfather Marvin Winkfield, and younger sister in New Jersey for the last 4 years. She will be returned to California to be buried near her family and friends.

What You Need To Know When Filing A Wrongful Death Claim

Mike B asks “What happens if during a personal injury or medical malpractice case, the plaintiff succumbs to their injuries and dies? Does it cause a new action to be filed or simply the old one to be amended? And more importantly does it affect the damages that can be recovered?”

Mike, there are many variables to this complex question, and I can only provide a general overview in response. It is not legal advice. More facts are needed. If you have suffered a loss such as this, you should consult with a trial lawyer immediately.

The types of awards you can expect in a wrongful death lawsuit

lawsuit

If you lose a loved one in an accident caused by another person’s negligence, then you’ll be able to file a wrongful death claim against that person. There is a standard of proof that you’ll need to meet in order to win your case. Your attorney can help make sure you have all the evidence and documents in order before you proceed.

Making a claim for a wrongful death is fair

Death alone cant stop court cases CROPPED

When you lose someone you love, the first thing you think to do won’t likely be to file a wrongful death lawsuit, but it’s something you should consider. These claims aren’t made simply to be cruel or demanding; they are necessary to help gain compensation for the survivors’ loss. When you realize that you want to make a claim, it’s vital that you take quick steps to do so, so you won’t be stopped by a limitation on the time you have to make a claim.

How can pools be kept safe for children?

Children smiling at edge of swimming pool

Keeping your child safe around swimming pools and other bodies of water is important, because it only takes a few seconds for water to be inhaled and drowning to begin. Adults should always be present when children are in a pool, and for those who are still toddlers, parents should be within arm’s reach.

Johnson v Cedars-Sinai Medical Center: Equal Access to Businesses and Services

Los Angeles Hospital Sued for Racism and Wrongful Death

For more information on the lawsuit see video or stories below:

Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act and Medical Malpractice Cases

Chris Dolan Awarded California Lawyer CLAY Award

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?