A New Orleans hospital has settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a 73-old-woman who died when the facility’s backup power failed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The terms of the agreement are confidential, according to the attorney representing for-profit Universal Health Services, the owner of Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital. The settlement was reached during the third week of the trial, which was widely watched in the industry because a verdict against the hospital was seen as
potentially expanding the liability of healthcare organizations for emergency planning and performance.
The case, filed by the survivors of patient Althea LaCoste, had already set precedent in Louisiana when the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the lawsuit could allege general negligence against the hospital, thereby unleashing the potential damages from the state’s caps on medical malpractice awards. Several other Katrina-related lawsuits against hospitals remain in the pipeline, according to UHS’ attorney, David Bowling. One scheduled for trial May 10 involves another patient at Pendleton Memorial, which has been shuttered since the 2005 storm. The city of New Orleans intends to buy it from UHS.
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