Personal Injury Law

Sacramento Physician Sued For Negligence, Part 2 of 4

By Moseley Collins, Esq.

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical negligence case and its proceedings.)

The following blog entry is written from a defendant?s position as trial approaches. Reviewing this kind of briefing should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in a personal injury case present such issues to the court.

Defendnat's Opposition Motion cont.

CINDY JONES CANNOT RECOVER FOR ANY ALLEGED LOSS OF HER DAUGHTER'S CONSORTIUM.
It appears that Cindy Jones is attempting to recover damages she allegedly suffered because her daughter became infected. This appears to be a loss of consortium claim. It is well-settled that a parent cannot recover damages for the loss of a child's consortium. (Baxter v. Superior Court, supra, 19 Cal.3d 461.) The motion to strike should be granted.

CINDY JONES DOES NOT HAVE A CLAIM FOR NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.
In the opposition, Cindy Jones asserts that she has a valid cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress ( NIED ) because Defendants failed to diagnose, treat and warn Plaintiffs of the impending danger to which she unknowingly exposed family members and the public. Plaintiff relies on Burgess v. Superior Court (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1064; Molien v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1980) 27 Cal.3d 916; and Ochoa v. Superior Court (1985) 39 Cal.3d 159. These cases do not support a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress by Cindy Jones.

Full post as published by Sacramento Injury Lawyer Blog on August 06, 2009 (boomark / email).