Huntington Beach : Kidney Patient Gets $1.2-Million Settlement

A Huntington Beach man who was awarded $5.2 million by a jury for bungled kidney surgery, only to have that award reduced to $256,000 by the judge, has received a $1.2-million settlement from two insurance companies.

Harry Jordan, 64, filed suit after surgeons at Long Beach Community Hospital mistakenly removed his good kidney instead of a cancerous one in November, 1982.

Jurors in a Los Angeles Superior Court trial awarded him $5.2 million last March, but Judge Robert Nye limited the total damages to $256,000, an action that he said was based on a state Supreme Court opinion limiting the amount of malpractice claims.

Jordan said Saturday that he and his wife received $900,000 from Doctor’s Company insurance in Santa Monica and $300,000 from Fremont Indemnity of Los Angeles in November.

His attorneys are still pursuing settlements from two doctors’ insurance companies in an appeal suit, Jordan said.

“I’m thankful for all that we’ve received, but we hope to get something more so we can continue to live and pay our medical bills,” Jordan said. He pointed out that with his court costs estimated at $400,000, the amount remaining in the settlement for medical bills was “well under $1 million.”

Jordan said his condition is worsening every day and that he expects to be undergoing dialysis treatment soon. Jordan said he ended his most-recent hospitalization Friday.