Secarea v. Regents of the University of Cal.
This wrongful death and survival action arises from the death of Nadine F. Secarea.[1] Plaintiff and appellant Valer V. Secarea, Jr., Nadine’s husband, alleges defendants and respondents Charles Swerdlow, M.D., Kalyanam Shivkumar, M.D., David Cesario, M.D., and the Regents of the University of California[2] caused Nadine’s death by performing a surgical procedure on her heart that included the experimental use of a temperature probe to prevent a rare, but usually fatal complication. According to Plaintiff, the UCLA Defendants performed the surgical procedure without Nadine’s informed consent because they failed to disclose both the possibility this rare complication could develop and the experimental use of the temperature probe to prevent that complication. Plaintiff also alleges defendants and respondents Alan C. Schwartz, M.D., Richard Swartzentruber, M.D., and Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center (Irvine Regional) contributed to Nadine’s death by failing to gather the necessary information and data to correctly diagnose and treat Nadine’s rare complication when she arrived at Irvine Regional’s emergency room.
This is Plaintiff’s second appeal in this action. On the prior appeal, we affirmed a summary adjudication against Plaintiff on his wrongful death claim against the UCLA Defendants, but reversed summary adjudication against Plaintiff on his lack of informed consent claim against the UCLA Defendants. We also affirmed the trial court’s ruling sustaining demurrers to Plaintiff’s battery, fraud, and negligence claims against the UCLA Defendants that alleged they improperly performed medical experimentation on Nadine and improperly allowed Cesario to participate in Nadine’s surgery as part of his “on the job training.â€
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