$15 million awarded to Palmdale resident after winning a malpractice suit

In 2013, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Dioresly Lora a $15 million verdict in a malpractice lawsuit. The lawsuit claimed that Lora suffered severe permanent brain injuries after being treated at Palmdale Regional Medical Center in late 2011.

According to Lora's attorney, Bruce G. Fagel, the money ensures that Dioresly will receive the proper, necessary care for her condition. Lora is currently in a "persistent vegetative state" at a neurocare facility that costs about $1,200 a day.

The lawsuit claimed the incident happened because Palmdale Regional Medical Center failed to properly monitor Lora's respiratory condition. Bruce G. Fagel notes that the doctor had ordered continuous monitoring of her oxygen saturation using a monitor similar to an EKG monitor for telemetry units. Still, the nurses did not follow this order. The patient subsequently experienced cardiopulmonary arrest.

Lora, who moved to Palmdale in 2009 to be with her boyfriend, had just completed her college degree about four months before the incident. A day after the incident, Lora's 61-year-old mother moved from their hometown in Virginia to provide around-the-clock support to her daughter. Hortensia Lora filed the lawsuit in late November 2011 on her daughter's behalf.

The trial was supposed to start on Nov. 15, 2012, at the Antelope Valley courthouse, but due to court congestion and the trial's length, the case was transferred to a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, Bruce G. Fagel said.

The trial began on Feb. 28.

Dr. Bruce G. Fagel is an attorney and physician who represents plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases against doctors and hospitals exclusively on behalf of injured patients. His practice focuses on all kinds of medical malpractice cases that result in catastrophic injuries caused by a doctor or hospital negligence such as birth or brain damage, induced hypertension, wrongful death, cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, nursing home negligence, misdiagnosis of cancer, and paraplegia cases. Learn more about him and his practice by visiting this site.