Low, Ball & Lynch’s
WEEKLY LAW RESUME
August
11, 2005 Issue By: Ray Coates
Wrongful Death Action – Medi-Cal
Liens
Fitch v. Select Products
(August 1, 2026)
In this California Supreme Court case, the Court considered whether Medi-Cal
can assert a lien for costs incurred in treating a decedent during his final
illness in a wrongful death action which did not include claims for medical
expenses.
Elan Jay Fitch contracted cancer while working for Southland Corporation as
a diesel mechanic. Medi-Cal paid the medical expenses to treat his
cancer. Fitch filed a worker’s compensation claim and Medi-Cal filed a
claim of lien in that proceeding to recover the amount paid for medical
treatment. While that action was pending, Fitch died of cancer, survived
by his wife and children.
Fitch’s widow brought an action for damages resulting from Fitch’s illness
and death. She named Select Products Company as a defendant, alleging
that the death was caused by a coating product manufactured by Select that
Fitch had used in his work. The action was brought solely as a wrongful
death action and not on behalf of Fitch’s estate to recover expenses incurred
in treating Fitch.
The worker’s compensation action settled and a part of the medical expenses
claimed by Medi-Cal were paid. Medi-Cal then filed in the wrongful death
action a lien for the remainder of the sums it had paid for medical care.
At trial, the Court ruled that Select could not be held liable in the
wrongful death action for the decedent’s medical expenses because those
expenses could only be recovered in an action by the Estate. The wrongful
death action resulted in a judgment in favor of the widow and children.
The trial court denied Medi-Cal a lien on the recovery. Medi-Cal
appealed. The Court of Appeal reversed holding that Medi-Cal could assert
a lien.
On petition to the California Supreme Court, it reversed in a unanimous
decision. In doing so, the Court interpreted the statutes which authorize
Medi-Cal to seek recovery from those responsible for treatment it has
paid. The Court noted that a right of recovery from third parties who
have caused an injury is given to Medi-Cal for medical treatment for which it
has paid. Medi-Cal may also assert a lien against recovery from a third
party in an action brought by persons entitled to bring such actions.
The Court stated that a wrongful death action is a new action in favor of
the heirs as defined by statute based upon their own pecuniary injury suffered
by the loss of a relative. This right is distinct from any action that
might have be maintained by the deceased had he survived. Because damages
awarded in a wrongful death action are for harm done to the survivors, and not
the deceased, medical expenses for treating the final illness or injury are not
recoverable. Since the damages awarded in a wrongful death action are
compensation for the harm to the survivors rather than to the decedent, and
because those damages do not include medical expenses incurred in treating the
decedent, Medi-Cal is not allowed to recover in a wrongful death lawsuit any
sum of money it paid for medical expenses. Medi-Cal may bring its own
action to recover the value of benefits provided to a beneficiary but it may
not use the lien procedure in a wrongful death action to obtain recovery of
those sums from the survivors. Because none of the survivors’ wrongful
death damages were attributable to the cost of the medical care provided, the
lien was not authorized in this case.
The Court therefore held that a Medi-Cal lien may not be asserted in a
wrongful death action where the damage recoverable does not and could not
include compensation for medical services provided to the decedent by
Medi-Cal. The judgment of the Court of Appeal was therefore reversed.
COMMENT
This decision flowed from the statutory construction given the Medi-Cal
statutes by the Supreme Court. In the Court’s view, the statute was clear
that, while Medi-Cal could assert its’ own right of recovery, it could not
impose a lien on a recovery in a wrongful death case which did not include the
medical expenses it paid.
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