Los Angeles County and the family of 15-year-old Elizabeth Nicks have agreed to settle her family's California injuries to a minor lawsuit for $5.5 million. On August 16, the media reported that the county's Board of Supervisors was expected to vote on the Los Angeles medical malpractice settlement amount on August 17.
Nicks sustained her catastrophic injuries after receiving medical attention at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She had been admitted to the hospital after she fell on on August 30, 2007 during a cheerleading accident at Aviation Park on August 30, 2007. Doctors at the hospital diagnosed and treated her small subdural hematoma. Five days later, Nicks was discharged from the hospital.
She became unresponsive the following day and was transported back to the hospital, where she was then diagnosed with retardation, massive brain damage, and paralysis. Her family's Los Angeles County medical malpractice lawyer contends that because the hospital decided not to conduct a CT scan prior to Nick's leaving the hospital, the medical staff failed to discover that her hematoma had grown in size during her stay there. Now, Nicks needs continuous nursing care.
By agreeing to settle the family's Los Angeles traumatic brain injury lawsuit , the county is not admitting fault. In addition to a lump sum payment of $2.45 million, over the next forty years Nicks' family will receive monthly payments that will eventually total $3.05 million. Nicks' parents will also get $250,000 in noneconomic damages.
Last month, Nicks' family settled their Los Angeles injuries to a minor lawsuit with Redondo Beach Youth Football & Cheer for an undisclosed amount.
Los Angeles Medical Malpractice
Unfortunately, medical mistakes can result in catastrophic injuries that can impair and disable a patient for life.
Examples of medical errors:
• Medication overdose
• Birthing malpractice
• Failure to diagnose cancer or other serious illnesses
• Surgical mistakes
• Wrong diagnosis
• Failure to provide the proper treatment in a timely manner
• Anesthesia errors
• Poor post operative care
$5.5M settlement reached in Redondo Beach cheerleader's injury, Contra Costa Times, August 15, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Redondo Beach Youth Football & Cheer
