LAS VEGAS — A lawyer is set to make a $1 billion argument to a state court jury that found Nevada’s largest health-management organization liable for damages in a Las Vegas hepatitis-exposure case.
Attorney Robert Eglet is due to ask the Clark County District Court jury to punish Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health Services for what Eglet calls “reckless disregard” for patient health.
The jury last Thursday awarded $24 million in compensatory damages to plaintiffs including Helen Meyer and Bonnie Brunson.
They got hepatitis C during outpatient procedures in 2005 at a clinic in the Health Plan of Nevada network.
Brunson’s husband, Carl, received damages for loss of consortium.
The jury also found “bad faith” by the companies. That opens the door for the punitive-damages argument.
