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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Survey will tell more about steelhead's movements, one clip at a time ... RCC selects new president: Kemper-Pelle of Texas ... Eight Abdill students stuck in elevator while smoke rises in Century Building ... Survey will tell more about steelhead's movements, one clip at a time ... RCC selects new president: Kemper-Pelle of Texas ... Eight Abdill students stuck in elevator while smoke rises in Century Building ... Morgan Smith arrives at the Medford airport Aug. 29, 1998. His mother, Gina, is at left. By SUSAN JAY MailTribune.com By SUSAN JAY Posted Jun. 23, 1999 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 7:51 AM By SUSAN JAY Posted Jun. 23, 1999 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 7:51 AM » Social News RVMC will pay Smiths Hospital settles at $10 million in malpractice suit for son Rogue Valley Medical Center has agreed to pay Morgan Smith $10 million to settle a malpractice lawsuit filed by his family in August 1998. Smith, 21, remains partially blind, bedridden and paralyzed after slipping into a coma while recovering from a routine surgery on Feb. 2, 1998 at RVMC. He will likely require 24-hour care for the rest of his life. Because of the settlement, the Smiths will now be able to get the kind of care he will need over his lifetime, said Tim Jones, an attorney with the Portland law firm that represented the Smith family. That care could include physical, occupational and speech therapy. Smith continues to improve, Jones said, speaking and moving better than before. The hope is the family will now be able to take him back to a specialized trauma rehab center somewhere in the country,Jones said. The $10 million settlement is one of the largest for the Portland law firm of Huegli & Jones, which specializes in personal injury and medical malpractice cases, Jones said. It is also one of the largest ever awarded in Southern Oregon, said local attorney Dennis Richardson, who also specializes in personal injury law suits. Jones said his firm will receive one third of the $10 million settlement for its services, leaving about $7 million for Morgan Smith. It's a big settlement, but it takes a lot to take care of someone with these kinds of injuries, Jones said. The Smith family declined to comment on the settlement. C.W. Smith, Morgan's father, former Jackson County sheriff and now Talent police chief, did issue a written statement. My family, Morgan most of all, has been through the unimaginable. We are glad that the lawsuit is over and we can continue to build a better life for Morgan, the statement said. My wife and I want to thank everyone in the community for their prayers and support during this difficult and trying time. Finally I want to thank attorneys Tim Jones and Jim Huegli who worked hard to see that there was accountability for what happened. The lawsuit was scheduled for trial in October. The complaint alleged that an RVMC nurse and certified nursing assistant failed to follow doctors' orders and monitor Morgan Smith's blood-oxygen levels while he was on morphine and recovering from surgery. That failure, the suit charged, caused Smith to slip into a coma and suffer brain damage. Smith, who was a swimmer and cross-country runner for Crater High School, had gone in for surgery to repair a small leak in his lung. The condition, known as pneumothorax, is common among athletes and is not life-threatening. This was a tragedy for Morgan and his parents, Jones said. This was also a tragedy for Rogue Valley Medical Center. Jones said the attorneys and the family never intended the lawsuit to be about bad institutions or bad nurses. He said RVMC had policies in place to prevent such a tragedy and the hospital's staff is well-trained. But mistakes happened that particular night, Jones said. From our standpoint, the hospital stepped up at key times during all of this to make this right by the family. At crucial junctures in Morgan's recovery and care, RMVC did the right thing, Jones said. RVMC paid for Morgan's five-month stay at a rehabilitation center in Kentfield, Calif., after the incident. That's one of the places the family may send him for more therapy. The new CEO and president of Asante Health System, Roy G. Vinyard, confirmed Tuesday that a settlement had been reached. Everyone involved in this settlement is concerned for Morgan and wishes the best for him, Vinyard said. We appreciate the Smith family's recognition of our concern. By SUSAN JAY MailTribune.com By SUSAN JAY Posted Jun. 23, 1999 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 7:51 AM » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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