Judge Denies Hospital’s Request for Gag Order

Attorneys for a hospital and doctor accused of refusing anesthesia during childbirth to poor mothers who could not pay cash in advance failed Friday in an attempt to prevent lawyers for one of the mothers from speaking to the press.

Northridge Hospital Medical Center and anesthesiologist Lori Berke argued that leaks to The Times and other news gathering organizations would taint the jury pool for a case that Ozzie Chavez, who the hospital admits was denied an epidural block because she could not pay cash, has filed against them.

But Superior Court Judge Richard Wolfe denied the motion for a gag order, saying it would be unconstitutional. Wolfe did, however, make attorneys for both sides promise not to release certain documents obtained in the discovery process, the process of evidence gathering in which each side must answer questions posed by the other.

“This court is not going to issue a blanket order against talking to the press,” Wolfe said.

The case, which was first highlighted in a June 14 Times’ report about denial of epidural blocks to women on Medi-Cal, has received so much press coverage that a gag order would “be akin to closing the barn door after the horse escapes,” Wolfe said.

“There’s not a person in California who reads the newspaper or watches television who doesn’t know about this case,” Wolfe said.

Nonetheless, Wolfe said, it was too early in the process for potential jurors to be tainted by the international publicity that followed the articles.

The case, based on the birth of Chavez’s daughter last summer and filed in January, is not likely to come to trial before next year.

The hospital has publicly apologized to Chavez for the incident, and state health regulators have come down hard on the facility.

The California Department of Health Services has repeatedly said it is illegal to charge Medi-Cal beneficiaries for epidural anesthesia, and last week the agency ordered Northridge Hospital to reimburse all women who were forced to pay cash for the commonly used procedure.

The hospital must also provide evidence of when the practice began and send letters to all Medi-Cal patients who delivered babies at the facility to see if they were required to come up with cash if they wanted an epidural.

The state had also cited the hospital for not complying with six health regulations, including failure to provide treatment that was ordered by a patient’s doctor.

In what has become a mantra for judges in high profile cases, Wolfe urged attorneys for both sides to refrain from trying the case in the media.

“The responsibility of counsel is to try a case in the courtroom,” he said, “not in the press.”

Robert Eroen, who represented Chavez in the proceeding, welcomed the decision.

“We are happy that the judge decided that constitutional rights do factor-in here,” Eroen said. “At the same time we realize the importance of professionalism in this and maintaining the integrity of the proceedings, and we intend to do that.”

Duke De Haas, attorney for the hospital and its malpractice insurer, said he would not fight the ruling.

“He reiterated that we should conduct this case with civility and dignity, and that’s all we’re seeking to do,” De Haas said.