The California Supreme Court rules that Medi-Cal (Medicaid) cannot assert a lien for medical expenses against a recovery in a wrongful death action that does not include recovery for medical expenses. Fitch v. Select Products Company(Cal., No. S116223, Aug. 1, 2005).
Elan Fitch contracted cancer while working as a diesel mechanic. Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program) paid his medical bills. Fitch died, and his children filed a wrongful death action against a company that manufactured a product Fitch used in his work. The California Department of Health Services (DHS) filed a lien in the wrongful death action. The children won the wrongful death action and moved to strike DHS's lien.
The trial court granted the children's request, but the court of appeals reversed.
The Supreme Court of California reverses, holding that DHS may not have a lien in the children's wrongful death action. The court rules that because the damages in a wrongful death action are compensation for harm done to the survivors, not to the decedent, and the damages do not include medical expenses, allowing DHS to recover would reduce the damages below the amount needed to fully compensate the survivors.
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