UCI hospital settles liver transplant lawsuits

IRVINE, Calif. – The UCI Medical Center agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle 35 lawsuits brought by former liver transplant candidates at the hospital or their relatives, the lawyer for most of the plaintiffs said Wednesday.

The plaintiffs sued the University of California, Irvine, hospital after a 2005 federal report found that 33 transplant candidates died between 2004 and 2005 even as the hospital turned away organs that might have saved some of them.

The report and ensuing scandal prompted UCI to close its liver transplant program in 2005 and led to the resignations of top hospital officials. The report also led to a federal investigation and calls for a state inquiry.

Individual payouts to the plaintiffs would range from $50,000 to more than $1 million, said Larry Eisenberg, the attorney for 33 of them. He said a notice of the settlement was submitted Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court.

Eisenberg said about 15 cases remain to be settled. He said of the 35 plaintiffs who settled Wednesday, only 10 are still alive.

The university issued a statement saying it committed to resolving the transplant litigation “in a reasonable and responsible manner” through mediation. It did not discuss the announced settlement.