Farber v. Klein
This case involves an unsuccessful claim of elder abuse. The verdict was in favor of defendant, who plaintiffs allege had turned off the oxygen supply of surviving 86-year-old patient. The plaintiffs’ theory at trial was that the facility was not licensed to care for patients such as plaintiff, who require a gastrostomy tube (a gastric feeding tube), and that turning off her oxygen would result in Farber’s transfer to a hospital, thus no longer jeopardizing the facility’s license. The jury apparently disbelieved the accusation of a caregiver at the Beverly Royale, specifically finding in its special verdict that defendant did not turn off plaintiff’s oxygen supply.
Court concluded that although the defense failed to give the requisite pretrial notice of witnesses, any error in permitting plaintiff’s treating physician to testify for the defense as a percipient witness, who essentially just acknowledged his various entries in hospital medical records, was harmless. Nor is a new trial warranted by an unanswered defense question regarding Medi-Cal coverage for medications. Equally unavailing are complaints about purported references to the relative wealth and power of two of the plaintiffs who are attorneys. Finally, there is no merit to the claim of prejudice from unobjected to testimony or comments in closing argument about plaintiff’s religion. Judgment affirmed.
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