Civil class-action lawsuit and settlement over patient deaths at Memorial

The civil class-action lawsuit and settlement over patient deaths at Memorial Medical Center brought a financial resolution to one part of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, without settling the families’ disagreement over what had happened or whether the outcome would change future practice. The $25 million settlement was reached shortly after trial began; the compensation process that followed left some relatives feeling that neither justice nor meaningful institutional change had been secured.

Settlement After Trial Began

The class-action suit was settled in March 2011, shortly after the trial opened. Contemporary reporting documented the agreement as a $25 million settlement concerning deaths at Memorial Medical Center. The resolution came after years of disputes over patient care and deaths during the hospital crisis, which had also led to a criminal investigation and accusations that medical professionals hastened patients’ deaths. The civil settlement resolved the class action, but the available account does not establish that it settled the underlying factual or ethical disputes.

Allocation and Separate Claims

The settlement’s allocation was consequential for families who had waited through lengthy legal proceedings. In the Preston, et al. v. Tenet case, the allocation guidelines provided $167,229.73 to be divided among survivors; some deceased patients had many children. Families who had opted out of the class action and pursued individual claims were also dissatisfied with outcomes, particularly after prolonged litigation.

Karen Lagasse’s suit on behalf of her mother, Merle Lagasse, was resolved through mediation for $270,000 before attorney fees. The amount did not satisfy Karen Lagasse. She believed it was too small to compel Memorial Medical Center or the physicians involved to change their practices. Her objection focused not only on compensation but on the power exercised during the emergency: who was judged worthy of living, who would be evacuated, and who would be left behind.

What the Resolution Left Open

For Karen Lagasse, the settlement did not answer the moral question at the center of the case or reassure her that similar decisions would be prevented. She continued to warn that the same circumstances could affect anyone’s spouse or child, and felt that those involved had escaped consequences sufficient to stop a recurrence. Her response shows the distance between a legal settlement and the sense of accountability sought by bereaved families.

The book places the civil case within a larger aftermath shaped by disputed recollections, witness interviews, contemporaneous records, and forensic evidence. It notes that memories may be altered or contaminated by later reports and discussions, while investigators sought physical and written records to establish what happened and when. The settlement therefore closed a financial and procedural chapter, but it did not make the contested history of Memorial Medical Center’s patient deaths simple or uncontested.