Hospital Agrees to Settle Lawsuit for 11 Million

By Brittany Golledge

Published on September 29, 2005

The parents of four-year-old Torajee Bobbett claimed that several staff members failed to diagnose and properly treat their son's condition during his 10-hour stay at Mercy Hospital. Torajee later suffered cardiac arrest and passed away.

The Bobbetts eventually filed a medical malpractice suit against Mercy Hospital and several nurses and physicians who had treated their son. The trial began last week and was expected to last for close to a month.

The 11 million dollar settlement was reached just hours after testimony from the hospital's risk manager revealed that as many as 67 documents given to the plaintiff's attorney had been altered prior to the trial. The risk manager, Anne Zimmerman, testified that it was attorneys from the hospital's firm, Post & Post, who had urged her to send the altered documents. Her testimony was halted Friday to allow her to retain a personal attorney.

Several attorneys from the firm Post & Post have denied allegations that medical records were altered at their direction.

Mercy Hospital has requested that the firm be excluded from the settlement.

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