Los Angeles hospital settles over leaving patient on street

A fourth Los Angeles-area hospital in less than three years has settled a lawsuit over a chronic problem in the nation's second-largest city — turning homeless patients out on the streets after they have been discharged, sometimes while still needing medical attention. Without acknowledging fault, Good Samaritan Hospital near downtown Los Angeles settled for $450,000 and agreed to follow protocols to properly release homeless patients, City Attorney Mike Feuer said Thursday. That brings the amount of such settlements with area hospitals to $1.9 million since January 2014.