Texas reaches settlement with Liberian Ebola man's family
A member of the Cleaning Guys Haz Mat clean up company removes items from the apartment where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was staying before being admitted to a hospital on October 6, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- Texas Heaalth Resources noted that Texas law limits cash payouts for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering to a total of $500,000 for any single case.
- Attorney Les Weisbrod told AFP that the settlement was "as much or more as could have been achieved by trying the case in court."
- Duncan, 42, is survived by four children aged 12 to 22, as well as his mother and father and his fiancee. Some live in Africa, some in the United States.
The Texas hospital where a Liberian man died of Ebola last month has reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with his family, officials said Wednesday.
The deal was reached between the family of Thomas Eric Duncan and Texas Health Resources, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the emergency physicians group involved with his treatment, a lawyer for Duncan's relatives said in a statement.
"The details of the agreement and an apology letter to the family are and will remain strictly confidential," said the law firm of Miller Weisbrod.
The firm also noted that Texas law limits cash payouts for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering to a total of $500,000 for any single case.
GROSS NEGLIGENCE
Such lawsuits require proof of gross negligence in an emergency room.
Attorney Les Weisbrod told AFP that the settlement was "as much or more as could have been achieved by trying the case in court."
The settlement also includes establishing a memorial fund in Duncan's name to assist victims of Ebola in Africa, Texas Health said in a statement.
"As part of the healing process, we have again extended our sincere apologies to the family and shared our regret that the diagnosis of Ebola Virus Disease was not made at the time of Mr Duncan's initial Emergency Department visit," the hospital said.
Duncan arrived in Texas from his native Liberia in late September and first sought care for symptoms of Ebola on September 24. He was evaluated and sent home, despite telling medics that he had recently travelled from Africa.
He returned to the hospital via ambulance on September 28, and died on October 8. Two US nurses were infected during his care, and both have recovered.
Duncan, 42, is survived by four children aged 12 to 22, as well as his mother and father and his fiancee. Some live in Africa, some in the United States.
West Africa is in the midst of the world's largest ever outbreak of Ebola, which has infected more than 14,000 and killed more than 5,100 since the beginning of the year.
