Judge Ernest Hiroshige, L.A. County Superior Court, ruled on October 16, 2012 that the fraud claims in a lawsuit brought by plaintiffs in a medical malpractice action against several doctors, can go forward. Plaintiffs sued the doctors and Cedars Sinai Medical Center, alleging that their gross negligence in the care and treatment of a young woman led to her death.
Plaintiffs have now been permitted to add claims for fraud, alleging that the doctors also misrepresented the health of the decedent, misrepresented their qualifications, and concealed certain material information regarding the care and treatment of decedent.
The significance of the Judge’s ruling allowing the fraud claims in to the suit is that the non-economic damages that flow from the alleged fraud (pain and suffering and loss of consortium) are not capped at $250,000, as fraud claims are not subject to Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA).