Contact Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter today to discuss your potential personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter
Riverbridge Building
2851 Park Marina Dr., Suite 200
Redding, California 96001
Toll Free 1-800-896-4200
Phone (530) 241-1905
Fax (530) 241-0622
The attorneys at Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter have won numerous verdicts and settlements on behalf of their clients, including several million dollar and multimillion dollar victories.
Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter have won over 98 percent of the cases that have gone to trial. Many of our cases have been considered newsworthy by the local and national media.
Recently, Robert Simpson was lead counsel and Russell Reiner liason counsel in an action brought against a group of doctors and a hospital by 769 former patients, claiming that the physicians, with direct support from the hospital, fraudulently performed unnecessary cardiac bypass surgeries and other invasive procedures upon them. This Northern California case has become the subject of a non-fiction novel entitled, “The Coronary,” by Steve Klaidman.
Below is a partial list of our verdicts and settlements.
If you wish to contact us for a free consultation about your case, please complete the contact form in the column or call us at 1-800-896-4200.
$442 Million for Unnecessary Heart Surgeries and Procedures.
“October 30, 2002 - 40 [FBI] agents execute search warrants at Redding Medical Center and offices and storage spaces of doctors Chae Hyun Moon and Fidel Realyvasquez, Jr.” Redding Record Searchlight. “Search warrant documents filed at the time alleged that the doctors . . .had for years been performing unnecessary and invasive procedures to boost hospital profits.” Redding Record Searchlight. Redding Medical Center is a subsidiary of Tenet Healthcare Corporation.
“With 114 hospitals and $14 billion in yearly revenue, Tenet Health Systems is this country’s second largest healthcare company. It is also one of the country’s most profitable, having built much of its business on critical care centers which specialize in expensive high-risk procedures, such as heart surgery.” Ed Bradley, 60 Minutes.
“Since 1989 Dr. Moon has sent thousands of patients for coronary bypass operations. One of them was Jay Bradley. The diagnosis was grim. He said that if something happens here there is zero chance of survival. ‘You need operating (sic) right away!’ So, he went across town to Redding’s only other hospital, Mercy Medical Center, where he got yet another surprise. ‘They called the cardiologist in who’d looked at my films and looked at all my records, and he came up and told me, ‘You’re the third patient this week coming here from Redding Medical Center and we can’t find anything wrong with them.’ Ed Bradley, 60 Minutes.
“For years, warning signs at Redding Medical Center were missed by regulators and accrediting organizations.” Washington Post. “ Until federal agents raided Redding [Medical Center], Tenet’s business model was based on maximizing the dollars it could collect from Medicare, the nation’s biggest buyer of health care. And Medicare’s complex formulas . . . reward some kinds of health care more richly than others, and few more richly than cardiac care.” The New York Times. “After the FBI raid, hundreds of patients came forward to accuse Redding Medical Center and some of its doctors of performing unneeded surgery.” Washington Post.“A Redding law firm [Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter] has filed the first of many expected lawsuits on behalf of large groups of clients who claim Tenet Healthcare Inc., Redding Medical Center and several Redding doctors performed unnecessary heart procedures for profit.” Redding Record Searchlight.
“Eight Redding heart specialists, Redding Medical Center and its parent corporation were named . . .in the largest single civil suit to date alleging unnecessary and invasive heart procedures were performed at the hospital. . . . Some 366 former patients and their survivors claim the doctors . . . conspired with the hospital and parent corporation Tenet Healthcare Corp. to rake in extra profits by persuading them to undergo surgery and other procedures they didn’t need. The plaintiffs include former patients who were as young as 30 and as old as 89 when they underwent procedures including heart catheterization, stent implants and bypass surgery. The suit was filed in Shasta County Superior Court by Redding attorney Russell Reiner, whose firm already has sued on behalf of 105 other former patients.” Redding Record Searchlight.
“Tenet Healthcare Corp. agreed to pay $395 million to settle most of the litigation brought by patients who claimed to have undergone unnecessary cardiac procedures at one of its hospitals. . . The allegations surfaced two years ago and provoked a national outcry that tarnished Tenet’s reputation and led to [the] sale of the hospital.” The Wall Street Journal.
“ Bitter Victory for former patients. Thanks to the tenacious efforts by Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter . . . Tenet Healthcare Corp. agreed to pay $395 million to settle the lawsuit. For Tenet the lawsuit was just an unfortunate event . . . But the tragic event has brought scars that [do not] go away easily. We can regrettably find (sic) the mistrust in medical services in this quiet beautiful town.” Nikkei Newspaper, Japan.
Millions for heart patients. Four cardiologists, including Chae Hyun Moon, have agreed to pay $24 million to settle lawsuits stemming from allegations of unnecessary cardiac procedures performed on hundreds of heart patients at the former Redding Medical Center . . . . The settlement increases pending RMC-related settlements to $419 million.” Redding Record Searchlight.
Eventually, Dr. Realyvasquez and the other surgeons of the California Heart Institute agreed to settle for an additional $23 million, bringing the total settlement to $442 million. Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter represented roughly one-half of the plaintiffs in this cause.
$30 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against Southern Pacific. The lawsuit was based on a spill of contaminated materials in the Sacramento River that caused severe physical and economic damages.
$5.4 million settlement for 41-year-old woman who suffered burn injury to 50% of her body when fuel tanker truck overturned on highway and burst into flames.
19 year old quadriplegic receives settlement (terms confidential) from Nissan Motor Works for a defective seat which failed causing severe spinal cord injury. Settlement of $3.4 million was also obtained from County government for maintaining a dangerous intersection.
“Car crash kills mother, son; injures 2 others. A Las Vegas mother of three and her 12-year-old son died at the crash scene. The woman’s two other children, an 18-year-old female and an 18-month –old boy, survived and were taken to a Las Vegas hospital. [The rollover] accident occurred . . .[when their] 1996 Ford Explorer went out of control after the tread of the left rear tire peeled off as the vehicle was traveling at about the speed limit.” San Bernardino County Sun. The terms of the settlement with Ford Motor Company are confidential.
“AMC, Unit Ordered To Pay $3.9 Million In Damages in Lawsuit. Redding, Calif. – A state court jury here awarded about $3.9 million in damages to the estate of . . .an 18-year old woman who died from injuries suffered when the CJ-5 Jeep she was riding in rolled over . . . [The estate claimed] that the design of the CJ-5 was defective because the vehicle had a ‘dangerous propensity’ to rollover during normal on-road use.” The Wall Street Journal.
“Steer Crash Ropes in $2 Million. An Elk Grove couple has settled their lawsuit against an auction yard for injuries they received when their car hit an escaped steer last year. . . The[couple] and their two young daughters were traveling north on Interstate 5 . . .when their 1997 Ford Escort struck an escaped 1,000-pound steer that was running south in the northbound lanes.” Los Angeles Daily Journal.
$1.8 million settlement against a government agency. A 19-year-old suffered severe spinal cord injury causing partial paraplegia due to a dangerous condition at an intersection.
“City loses crash lawsuit. The City of Redding must pay $1.6 million for the death of a Shasta teenager whose car collided with a Redding police officer’s. . . , a jury decided Friday.” Redding Record Searchlight.
“Jury gives $1.5 Million. A Redding man was been awarded $1.5 million from a jury, which ruled that a Redding car dealer was to blame for the auto accident that injured the man. [The defendant was found] negligent because it didn’t loan or rent [the plaintiff] a car to use while he waited for a part to repair the . . .Camaro he bought new from [the car dealer]. Seven days after visiting the dealership the car stalled while [the Plaintiff] was driving it and the Camaro slammed into a curb.” Redding Record Searchlight.
$1.8 million settlement against a government agency. The plaintiff, a 19-year-old, became a paraplegic after suffering a spinal cord injury due to a dangerous condition at an intersection.
“Crash victims get $1.1 million. A Shasta County couple are breathing easier after their personal injury lawsuit . . .settled for $1.1 million. . . [The client], a former U.S. Forest Service employee, suffered fractures to his legs, ankles, knee, rib and hip. . . [The client] was driving east in a pickup when a westbound van containing three company employees crossed the center line and slammed head-on into the pickup.” Redding Record Searchlight.
$1,020,533 settlement for college student who suffered brain injury in rollover accident involving Jeep CJ-7.
“Jury awards roofer $1 million. A roofer was awarded more than $1 million Monday by a Shasta County Superior court jury for injuries he received in a fall at a Redding construction site. [The plaintiff] was roofing a new home . . .when someone moved the ladder he had been using. . . The ladder collapsed as [he] attempted to come down from the roof and . . .broke his right leg and shattered his right ankle. Jurors returned a verdict for $1,004,753.” Redding Record Searchlight.
“Ward’s patron wins $1 million complaint. A Trinidad hairdresser who sued Montgomery Ward & Co. after a wheel fell off her van on U.S. Highway 101 . . .was awarded nearly $1.3 million Thursday.” Eureka Times-Standard.
$1.2 million settlement for a 60-year-old retired CalTrans employee who suffered severe injuries after being struck by a snow plow.
$1.2 million settlement with State of California for serious spinal injuries suffered by 45 year-old Hydroelectric Power Plant Controller that prevented her from returning to work.
“United Nations Official Injured. A former United Nations official, injured in a Shasta County car crash 2 ½ years ago, has agreed to a $500,000 settlement . . . [The] New York based client . . .headed the United Nations statistical division until he received a severe head injury . . .when his vehicle was forced off Interstate 5 . . .by a weaving tractor-trailer rig. The Washington state trucker . . . [was] found to have a blood-alcohol level that was 2.5 times the legal limit.” Redding Record Searchlight.
If you have suffered a serious personal injury as the result of another's negligence, contact the Redding, California law firm of Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter today.
At Reiner, Simpson & Slaughter, we offer a free case evaluation. Our clients are our top priority, so we will only take cases to which our firm can be fully committed.
Schedule a case consultation with our personal injury attorneys today. Contact our Redding, California injury law firm.