MICRA Victim - Delaney Gonzalez

Approximately 98,000 Americans die every year because of medical errors.

In California, a law that hasn't changed since 1975 takes away the right of injured Californians to hold an incompetent doctor or negligent hospital accountable for medical errors.

California's "malpractice cap" limits compensation for pain and suffering because of medical negligence to $250,000. This cap on compensation for injured Californians hasn't been adjusted for inflation since 1975. It would be more than $900,000 in today's dollars.

Put that in perspective: The minimum wage would be $2.10 an hour if it hadn't changed since 1975.

The cap never changes, no matter how severely you are injured, if you lose your sight, your fertility, or even your child.

Because of the cap, people who are injured - and don't make a lot of money - can't find attorneys in California. The cost to prepare and try a case for retired seniors, women who don't work, children or low-income Californians is often more than the case is worth. Without an attorney, health care providers aren't held accountable for hurting people with medical mistakes, neglect and abuse.

This and many other videos are part of the site JusticeForPatients.org. JFP is an attempt to illustrate the human cost of this out-moded and arbitrary cap on a victim's financial compensation.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• MICRA
• malpractice
• patient
• California
• victim

[haileyblazesmom]

I think it's a pretty sad commentary regarding lawyers. Their failure to accept this case is really inexcusable. Many times, lawyers take on cases according to the amount of money they'll make on the settlement. I have seen lawyers take on cases that have marginal merit and they allow the family to think they'll received a large sum of money. Once the case is settled, the family finds that the lawyer has taken nearly 50% of the total settlement.

[uniquebsame]

I know the pain you are feeling. My only brother was negligently killed also in Springfield, MO, I won't go into the details but the same things happened to me. (the cover ups, the lawyers, etc.) This is a hugh problem in the US. Doctor's, nurse's, etc. basically getting away with murder I would write more but they won't let me. Very sorry for your loss!

[danielins]

when delaney died the chief reident at ucla falsified the death certificate and tried to have us bury her body right away, only after we insisted that the l.a. county coroner get involved did we start to find out what ucla had done and how they tried to cover up little delaney's death..oh and no government agency did a thing..

[danielins]

above is taken from the l.a. times article regarding my daughter delaney..... ucla medical center should be ashamed for not only killing my daughter but for the way they treated my family after her death, as of today i have never recieved and apology from ucla, danny gonzalez

[danielins]

According to their report, the radiology department waited hours before reviewing chest X-rays that would have pinpointed the problem because they were "too busy." In addition, staff members detached and did not replace a carbon-dioxide breathing monitor that they believed to be broken, gave the girl medications that ran counter to doctors' orders and failed to alert supervisors as her condition deteriorated, inspectors said.

[danielins]

The misplaced tube was just the first in a series of errors leading to the child's death, according to California state health inspectors who reviewed the case in response to a complaint from Delaney's mother.

[danielins]

The simple explanation is that a breathing tube had been misplaced and had pumped air into the child's stomach rather than her lungs, according to Delaney's medical and autopsy records. Because her body was deprived of oxygen, Delaney's heart stopped. She suffered irreversible brain damage.

[daviddied]

Here in Georgia we have a simular cap on elderly victims. My husbands died because he was given ten Percocets in a 24 hour period. His BiliRubin was normal 0.5, before; five weeks after it was 5.4 and climbing. He was lied to about what was wrong, he was told he had hepatitis C, and was not treated for the overdose in anyway. He died with a Bili Rubin of 50. Please see my videos.