Memorial Medical Center (LA) settlement tentatively approved

A New Orleans judge has given preliminary approval to a $25 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Tenet Healthcare, the pre-Katrina owner of Memorial Medical Center, on behalf of patients and others trapped at the hospital after the storm. The lawsuit accused Tenet of failing to properly prepare for the storm, including the failure to develop and follow proper evacuation plans and take other necessary emergency-preparedness steps. Memorial, located on Napoleon Avenue near South Claiborne Avenue, was swamped by floodwaters after levees broke following Hurricane Katrina. The hospital lost power, including backup generators, and temperatures inside the facilities soared, a factor that contributed to the deaths of some patients. After Katrina, 45 bodies were recovered from Memorial.