Wrongful Death News

Nine Families Sue UC Liver Transplant Program

The families of nine people who died while waiting for new organs from the University of California at Irvine liver transplant program have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school.

The suit was filed Friday against the University of California, Irvine, (UCI) Medical Center, as well as some of its doctors, the former chief of the transplant program, and the University of California regents, the Associated Press reported.

The school shut the program last month in the wake of a federal government report's findings that the program had a one-year survival rate of 68 percent - 70 percent between July 2001 and June 2004. The minimum federal requirement is 77 percent, the AP said. In addition, more than 30 patients died awaiting transplants over the past two years, according to federal data cited by the wire service.

The federal report was filed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Nov. 10, according to the AP, which also reported that the hospital allegedly performed "far fewer than the 12 transplants per year required by the government for federal reimbursement."

Attorney Larry Eisenberg, who filed Friday's lawsuit in Orange County Court, alleged that the UCI program continued to accept patients even though its officials knew they didn't have the capability to perform transplants, the AP reported. Eisenberg also alleged that the program at one time did not have a liver transplant surgeon on staff, the wire service said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified general and wrongful death damages.

If you have suffered financial or emotional distress due to the negligence of others in Arizona, contact our wrongful death lawyer now and obtain a free case evaluation.

	Did You Know?
	Family members can file a wrongful death suit. This depends on individual state law, but in general the immediate family members (spouses, children and parents) can file a wrongful death claim. Some states allow grandparents, legal dependants and extended family members to file.