A last-minute effort to work out a settlement with Tenet Health Systems and Memorial Medical Center in a lawsuit over deaths at the hospital during Hurricane Katrina was unsuccessful. Jury selection for the trial was to begin Mar. 22 in the afternoon.
Attorney Joe Bruno represents the family of Leonard Preston, who died at Memorial after the 2005 storm hit. Bruno said that the plaintiffs are eager to settle, but the two sides were far apart financially.
“We tried to work something out, but we couldn’t get close,” Bruno said.
The class-action suit was brought on behalf of several people who were at the hospital or who had a relative die during the hurricane and the flooding that ensued. It claims that the hospital was not prepared to care for the patients as conditions in the city deteriorated and that there was no plan to evacuate the patients, both of which led to deaths at Memorial.
Katrina left 85 percent of New Orleans, including the area around the hospital, flooded. The lower level of the medical center was under 10 feet of water. Electrical power and communications failed; temperatures inside the building soared above 100 degrees. Food and water were limited.
About 2,000 patients, medical workers and other staff were stranded at Memorial. Officials eventually recovered 45 bodies from Memorial, many of whom were said to have died from dehydration during the four-day wait for rescuers.
The current suits have nothing to do with earlier charges against a doctor and two nurses, Bruno said.
“We are not blaming the doctors or others that were there working to take care of the patients,” Bruno said.
“Memorial Medical Center’s patients, their families, medical and nursing staff members and administrative personnel survived the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina. In the early morning following the storm, a prompt return to normal operations of the hospital and the city itself seemed likely until multiple breaches of the levees and horrific, unprecedented flooding occurred,” Tenet said in a statement.
“Surrounded by floodwaters for days, the hospital and its staff faced many challenges, dangers and discomfort as they cared for patients under extremely difficult circumstances. There were countless examples of personal courage and sacrifice. We are confident that in the end, the evidence will show that Memorial Medical Center and its staff and physicians acted heroically in the face of such a tragic situation.”
The class-action lawsuit could open the door to many more such suits, Bruno said, if the jury rules in favor of the plaintiffs.
Bruno referred to the current suit as a “test case,” which would determine whether there was any fault on the part of Memorial or Tenet. If so, additional people who were at the hospital, including doctors and nurses, could sue for damages, he said.
The current lawsuit is asking for damages “in excess of $50,000, together with legal interest and costs.”
Preston, who suffered from diabetes, died at Memorial of dehydration during the storm, Bruno said.
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