Effort to settle cases planned
The Nevada Supreme Court will try to resolve more than 200 medical malpractice lawsuits in District Court through a "settlement marathon" in May.
Two-judge teams of senior judges will conduct settlement conferences in 216 of the oldest medical malpractice cases in Clark County. Of those cases, 109 were filed more than two years ago.
"Our intent is to get as many cases resolved as possible so only the most serious and complex go to trial," Justice Michael Cherry, who supervises the senior judge program, said in a statement.
The senior judges will conduct settlement conferences at a rate of two per day and about 18 cases will be scheduled each week.
During his State of the Judiciary speech, Chief Justice James Hardesty said there are more than 400 medical malpractice cases pending, not including cases related to the hepatitis C outbreak.
The hepatitis C crisis stems from the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, whose staff was accused of reusing syringes and single-use medicine vials to save money. At least nine people were infected with hepatitis C and 50,000 more were told to get tested.
Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
