In Bergman v. Chin, the plaintiffs received a jury verdict of $1,500,000 based on a
claim of elder abuse of their then-deceased father during the last 8 days of his life. It was alleged that the defendant doctor committed elder abuse by failing to prescribe adequate pain medication to William Bergman while he was hospitalized at Eden Hospital for probable terminal cancer.
The verdict has been characterized by several commentators as a landmark case for a number of reasons. First, it is believed to represent the first verdict against a physician under the Elder Abuse statutes in California. Secondly, the verdict is the first in California to establish that a failure to provide adequate pain management may constitute elder abuse.
The verdict has attracted widespread attention in the medical community and has resulted in both heightened awareness in health care providers of the need to make pain management a high priority and in legislation requiring physicians to have regular training in pain management. |
The Law Offices of James Geagan assists clients with Elder Abuse, Nursing home neglect, Will and Trust Disputes (will contests), Workplace Injuries, Discrimination, Product Liability, Automobile Accidents, Medical Malpractice, and Wrongful Death cases in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, San Rafael, Redwood City, Vallejo, Fairfield, Fremont, Walnut Creek, Concord, Santa Rosa, Daly City, Albany, Alameda, El Cerrito, Sonoma, Napa, and throughout San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Solano, Marin, Sonoma, and Napa counties.