Hospital Settles Patient Dumping Lawsuit

A Los Angeles-area hospital has agreed to settle a patient dumping lawsuit brought by Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer for $450,000.

            Gardens Regional Hospital & Medical Center in the South Los Angeles County city of Hawaiian Gardens dumped the unidentified patient in downtown Los Angeles in 2014, wearing nothing but a paper pajamas and no identification. She had been a frequent user of the hospital’s emergency room. And while her sister apparently worked at the hospital, she and other family members were not notified as to her whereabouts.

            Gardens Regional, which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings and is being purchased by another entity, did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

            Feuer’s office has sued several other hospitals for dumping patients within city limits, netting more than $3 million in legal settlements.