Suit Over Hospital Care Settled for $15 Million
A young Lynwood couple whose ailing newborn was given reduced treatment because a student-resident physician presumed it was too sick to live will receive a settlement of nearly $15 million, an attorney said.
The settlement for lifetime medical support of Michael Jonathan Peters Jr., 2, was reached Wednesday with Los Angeles County officials just as the case was scheduled to begin trial, according to Bruce G. Fagel, a Beverly Hills lawyer representing the couple.
Shortly after his June 14, 1987, birth at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Michael Jr.--the son of Michael and Karen Peters--was in severe distress. But when 30 minutes of resuscitation failed to revive him, the resident stopped, allegedly assuming the baby would die.
But he recovered after a month in Harbor’s intensive-care unit and was eventually able to go home.
The child suffers from cerebral palsy, severe mental retardation and eye problems. He will require 24-hour care and extensive medical treatment for the rest of his life, Fagel said.
George E. Peterson, an attorney who represented the county, said he was “ethically bound” by a court order not to discuss the settlement.
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