VERA OMAR VS ROSECRANS VILLA RESIDENTIAL CARE ET AL

Tentative Rulings

Case Number: BC607787    Hearing Date: November 08, 2019    Dept: SWB

Hearing Date: November 8, 2019

Moving Parties: Petitioner Brittany Beasley

Responding Party: None

Petition to Approve Compromise of Pending Action of Person with a Disability

The court considered the moving papers.

RULING

The court is inclined to grant petitioner’s Petition to Approve Compromise of Pending Action on behalf of claimant Vera Omar.

Pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 7.952(a), petitioner and claimant are required to attend the hearing on the petition but because of claimant’s health condition, the court finds good cause to dispense with her appearance.

BACKGROUND

On January 20, 2016, Vera Omar filed a complaint against Rosecrans Villa Residential Care, Rosecrans Villa, Inc., and Keivan Golchini, M.D. for negligence, willful misconduct, and elder abuse.

On April 29, 2016, plaintiff filed a FAC.

On August 17, 2016, plaintiff filed a SAC. She alleges that on January 26, 2013, she was admitted to the assisted living facility known as Rosecrans Villa, located in Hawthorne. She was a resident/patient from January 2013 through January 2014, after which she was transferred to Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center. On January 26, 2014, plaintiff suffered a massive stroke sometime shortly after breakfast. Rosecrans Villa contacted Dr. Golchini sometime after plaintiff suffered her stroke and was advised that someone from his office would come to the facility to evaluate plaintiff, but this did not occur. Although plaintiff suffered a stroke shortly after breakfast, defendants failed to call 911 or take any effective standard medical steps to prevent or retard the progression of the stroke until more than eight hours later, at which time she was found to have a seriously altered mental state, altered speech, and left-sided weakness. By this time, she was well beyond the time for TPA therapy. She has never recovered.

DISCUSSION

The court has reviewed the petition and finds the settlement amount to be fair and reasonable.

The parties settled for $400,000, with Medicare reimbursement of $884.09, attorney’s fees of $160,000, attorney costs of $128,044.50, and a reserve of $55,977.75 for Medi-Cal. The balance of proceeds available for claimant is $55,093.67. Counsel’s declaration is sufficient to support the attorney’s fees and costs requested. The litigation was heavily contested and ongoing for three years.

Accordingly, the court is inclined to grant the petition.