Winn

FACTS

The plaintiffs are Kathleen A. Winn and Karen Bredahl, the daughters and surviving heirs of Elizabeth M. Cox. The defendants are Pioneer Medical Group, Inc., Emerico Csepanyi, James Chinuk Lee and Stanley Lowe. Doctors Csepanyi, Lee and Lowe are licensed physicians or podiatrists, who maintained offices at Pioneer Medical Group in Cerritos and Long Beach. Plaintiffs‟ first amended complaint alleges the following facts. Mrs. Cox began receiving medical care from Dr. Csepanyi at Pioneer‟s facilities as early as November 2000. In 2004, she was evaluated by Dr. Lowe, a podiatrist, who treated her for “ „painful onychomycosis,‟ ” a condition “well known to limit mobility and indirectly impair peripheral circulation.” Dr. Lowe recorded that pulses in the upper surface of Mrs. Cox‟s foot “were not palpable reflecting [Mrs. Cox] had severely impaired vascular flow in her lower legs.” Dr. Lowe‟s 2004 report showed that a copy of the report was sent to Dr. Csepanyi. Thus, both Dr. Lowe and Dr. Csepanyi knew that Mrs. Cox suffered from impaired lower vascular flow, and “also knew that if prompt referral to a vascular specialist was not made at that time there was a high degree of…