Settlement Reached In Katrina Class Action Lawsuit

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A major New Orleans hospital and the company that owned it have settled a class action lawsuit in the deaths and injuries of patients who were stranded there during and after Hurricane Katrina.

The settlement was reached Wednesday as lawyers were picking a jury to hear the case. The agreement is subject to court approval, which attorney Joe Bruno, who represented one of the families suing the health providers, said should come in a few weeks.

Kurt Blankenship, a lawyer for the defendants, said the parties agreed to keep the terms of the settlement confidential.

About 2,000 patients, medical workers and other staff were stranded at Memorial Medical Center -- which was owned by Tenet Health Systems -- after the 2005 storm. Officials eventually recovered 45 bodies from Memorial.