Suit can't continue against hospital

Ruiz, a 73-year-old woman who was on life-support after a massive heart attack, was moved from a two-bed trauma room so that Jackson could privately occupy the room, according to the plaintiffs' complaint.

Ruiz was moved to an exam room, while kept alive by hand-pumped oxygen, until she could be reconnected to life-support machines. She had another heart attack, but milling crowds delayed her arrival at the critical-care unit, according to the complaint. She died later that evening.

During the hearing Tuesday, the attorney for the hospital, Santa Barbara-based Hugh Spackman, argued that facts alleged in the case were filed under an ill-fitting cause of action.

McKiernan, attorney for the plaintiffs, defended the allegations in the complaint as being based on an “outrageous set of facts,” and he described the events surrounding Jackson's hospital stay as “highly unusual.”

Outside court after Melville's granting of the demurrers, McKiernan said the judge didn't find that Jackson or the hospital had a duty to Ruiz's relatives.

McKiernan said he will file a re-drafted complaint in the case.

“We're always confident in our work,” he said.

Spackman and the attorney representing Jackson in the case, Timothy Gorry of Los Angeles, declined to comment on the judge's ruling.

  Source; www.lompocrecord.com     /   Paul mj cool

 

MJ-Upbeat News