Elder Abuse At Sacramento Skilled Nursing Facility Leads To Death, Part 2 of 9

It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this elder abuse case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Methodist, or Sutter.

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

In short, the question posed by the demurrer to the First Cause of Action presents an array of included issues. As MICRA is a defense which has, as factual foundations, questions related to the capacity of the defendant and their participation in the transactions on which the action is based, a demurrer by each of the Hill defendants based on the licensure status of the skilled nursing facility is disingenuous, and unconvincing.

The demurrer is also to the Eighth Cause of Action for wrongful death under Civil Code §377.60. This cause of action is a statutory tort, and the question whether MICRA applies to it is will be determined by established case law deciding the question of when a statutory tort is governed by MICRA as a negligence claim would be, or on the other hand whether the statutory tort would not be governed by MICRA as an intentional tort.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Preliminarily, the question whether MICRA applies to limit the period within which to bring a negligence action will depend on (a) whether the defendant has a requisite license entitling it to MICRA protection, (b) whether the defendant is liable for conduct which is a MICRA protected activity, and (c) whether the statutory wrongful death claim is for negligent v. intentional conduct (which would not be covered by MICRA).

Finally, the demurrer to the Sixth Cause of Action is based on the assertion that substantively, it is inadequately pleaded because the promises and representations of fact were not relied upon by the Plaintiffs or their decedent. Ordinarily this argument would have some appeal but for the expansion of the doctrine of fraud in Randi W. v. Muroc Joint Unified School District (1997) 34 Cal. 4th 1066, which specifically upheld allegations of fraud made against a school district for falsely representing facts to a third person, which caused an injury to the victim within a foreseeable class of persons, and sustained a foreseeable injury. Therefore, the absence (as the demurring parties note) of an allegation that the victim, Mrs. King, relied on the false representations or promises, is not determinative of the legal merit of the Sixth Cause of Action. (See Part 3 of 9.)

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

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