The plaintiffs in this case were the survivors of a 50-year-old man whom they claim died as a result of negligence by defendant HMO. The claim was that plaintiffs’ decedent was seen in the defendant’s emergency room with symptoms of pneumonia. Rather than hospitalizing plaintiff and treating the pneumonia, defendant sent him home where he died in his sleep.
The family retained the law offices of Winer, Burritt & Scott, LLP, to prosecute the case claiming that defendant sent decedent home in order to save money and increase its profits rather than administer appropriate treatment. Plaintiffs were faced with the $250,000 limitation in medical malpractice cases for damages for emotional distress; however, the case was still able to be successfully settled.
RESULT: Settlement on behalf of plaintiffs, $500,000