Tenet Healthcare has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding the deaths of patients who were stranded at one of the company’s New Orleans hospitals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, according to a Bloomberg report.
At least 34 patients died at Memorial Medical Center in Aug. 2005 when the hospital was without power. Allegedly, indoor temperatures reached more than 100 degrees and windows would not open. Families of patients who died claim the hospital was not prepared to care for patients, had no emergency plan and chose certain patients for evacuations but not others, who were allegedly abandoned without any type of life support.
A Tenet spokesperson said this has been a long and difficult situation and both parties are pleased to reach an amicable resolution, according the report. Both parties are keeping terms of the settlement confidential until the New Orleans Civil District Court approves. Tenet has settled 11 other cases over Katrina, but this was the first suit to go to trial, according to the report.
Read the Bloomberg report on Tenet.
Read more about Tenet:
–Trial Starts for Lawsuit Against Tenet Over Hospital Deaths After Katrina
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