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Nurse Andrea Morris nearly lost her life at work. Her catastrophic medical emergency left her quadriplegia, but the City of Hope has so far denied her claims to the benefit of workers. The California Court of Appeals has denied the hospital’s petition, and the hospital appears to comply with the Court of Appeals’ decision.
It was during the first wave of the COVID pandemic that Andrea Morris’ life changed forever.
She was working at the Hope Cancer Inführer Center in the Highlands when she told her boss she was sick.
Within minutes, the three athletic, active mothers collapsed from a sudden cardiac arrest. Her supervisor, who is also a nurse, recorded her emergency on the phone, called 911 and mistakenly described her cardiac arrest as a seizure. None of the doctors or nurses attended performed the CPR for more than seven minutes.
The lack of oxygen in her brain led to quadriplegia. Morris’ condition requires 24 hours a day care. Without the benefits of the workers, she was forced to sell the house, settle the 401k and move in with her older parents.
Her parents passed away within weeks of each other this winter. It was an emotionally painful loss for Morris and had financial implications.
According to Morris’ legal guardian and sister Pam Bertino, care costs 24/7 to nearly $300,000 a year.
“I’m in the position of my retirement benefits just to pay for caregivers and medical expenses,” Batino said.
For five years, City of Hope claimed that injuries were not related to the workplace.
However, Morris’ attorneys pointed out that the law requires that 1% ink be proven between work and sudden cardiac arrest, posting job statements for the city of choice, even though the pandemic states that “employees work under stressful conditions.”
“That stress, and we need 1%, and it caused a sudden cardiac arrest, and two doctors said the same thing,” said Morris’ lawyer Keith.
These two independent doctors evaluated Morris as part of a worker comp trial
In October 2024, the judge ruled in favor of Morris.
City of Hope appealed to the Workers Comp Appeal Committee in November. In December, the board of directors supported the judge’s decision.
The City of Hope again appealed, but on May 31, the California Court of Appeals, the 4th District, refused the petition for review.
On June 4th, Hope City Chief Communications Officer, Nisha Morris, issued this statement.
“As a precious colleague in the City of Hope, we continue to sympathize with Morris’ situation. The City of Hope will manage the benefits to Morris as per their decision.”
The city of hope had one final path to appeal: the state Supreme Court.
“In theory, if there is a terrible mistake from the Court of Appeal, the California Supreme Court could be involved, but that’s rarely happening,” said Royal Oaks, a legal analyst who is not involved in the case.
And while City of Hope says they have no plans to appeal to the High Court, they will have to do so until Monday, June 9th.
For now, it appears that the family’s five-year welfare battle is finally over. They say they hope this is a new beginning of care she is lacking.
“She has now not undergone any serious speech therapy, occupational or physical therapy for about three years,” Batino said. The hospital provides specialized care, and Casacolina has a lien of more than $500,000 for the city of choice for the treatment Morris already received.
“You can work on her arm, her contract, that,” he referred to Morris’s numb wrists and hands that he can’t even numb or manipulate the straw. “We know there’s surgery.”
“That’s something we’ve been dreaming about,” Batino said. “That day, she might be able to use her hands and take a sip of water herself.
For the past five years, the family has gathered around Morris. They say the generosity of friends and strangers who donated to Morris’ gofundme kept them floating when the money was low. They say they hope their legal battle is over, but as of June 4th, Morris’ attorneys had not received confirmation that Hope City would comply with the Court of Appeals’ decision.
“For dragging this out for so long, I want to receive an apology from the City of Hope,” Batino said.
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