Claims Board Urges County to Settle Suit Over Hospital

The Los Angeles County Claims Board on Monday recommended that the county accept a $3-million settlement from two firms for alleged defects in their design of the Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar.

The county filed a lawsuit against four firms in 1986 after officials learned that the almost-completed medical center was plagued with design problems. The total cost to the county to correct the design flaws totaled $4.8 million, said Nancy Singer, who is head of the claims board, a panel that reviews lawsuit settlements.

The county’s settlement with Syska & Hennessey Inc. and Welton Becket Associates Inc. was reached after a Superior Court judge strongly recommended in October that the county accept the $3-million offer.

The two remaining defendants in case are Design Joint Venture and Luckman Partnership Inc. Singer did not know the status of settlement negotiations. The county attorney handling the case could not be reached.

The opening of the county medical center was delayed for a year because of the problems. Inspectors, for instance, discovered that the hospital’s sophisticated exhaust system, which was tied into the building’s fire-protection system, was not working properly. Fans were not strong enough to blow air through the rooms and out of the building, according to county records.

In addition, the central plant could not produce enough hot and cold water to heat and cool the facility. The county alleged that the defendants did not accurately tell it how much hot and cold water would be needed.

“There were a number of defects in the design of Olive View,” Singer said. “The county wound up expending considerable amounts of money to get them fixed.”

Olive View, which opened in 1987, was built to replace the medical center that was destroyed by the 1971 Sylmar earthquake shortly after it opened.

The defendants, according to a county report submitted to the claims board, argued that they were being “scapegoated” for inadequacies of the prime contractor and the county’s administration of the project. The defendants alleged that substantial delays were beyond their control and that their work satisfied design standards.

The Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles County Health Facilities Authority must each approve the proposed $3-million settlement. The board is expected to act on the issue on Nov. 20.