Filed 4/25/06; pub. order 5/25/06 (see end of opn.)
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
CORNELL STERLING MAYES et al.,
Plaintiffs and Appellants,
v.
DAVID C. BRYAN etc., et al.,
Defendants and Appellants.
B172533
(Los Angeles County
Super. Ct. No. GC027757)
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Jan A. Pluim, Judge. Affirmed.
Law Offices of Bruce G. Fagel and Associates, Bruce G. Fagel, Richard Akemon, and James E. Wright for Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Thelen Reid & Priest, Curtis A. Cole, Kenneth R. Pedroza, and E. Todd Chayet; Schmid & Voiles, Susan Schmid, and Rebecca J. Hogue for Defendants and Appellants.
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Story Continue from Part I ……….
Causation is proven when â€
Description
Defendants who initially agreed to jury instruction, then objected to it during deliberations, could not under doctrine of invited error object on appeal. Where defense in medical malpractice action based on alleged misdiagnosis contended that defendant physician did not cause harm to plaintiff because correct diagnosis would not have altered subsequent course of treatment, trial court did not err and did not prejudice defendant by instructing on "substantial factor" rather than "but for" test of causation. In calculating noneconomic damages, trial court correctly reduced noneconomic verdict to the statutory MICRA maximum of $250,000 and then reduced it further under Proposition 51 to reflect the percentage of fault attributed to settlement plaintiffs received. Where resulting amount was less than plaintiffs' statutory offer of settlement, they could not recover additional costs under Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 998.
