Hernandez Ex Rel. Telles-Hernandez v. United States
Opinion
Opinion
Armstrong, J.
AMENDED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
FINDINGS OF FACT
A. Prenatal Course Before Rupture of Membranes
1. Alicia Telles-Hernandez learned she was pregnant in March 2002. Reporter’s Transcript (RT) 360:12-16. She received prenatal care from her primary physician, Dr. Don Carlos Steele (hereinafter Dr. Steele or Defendant) at the Sonoma County Indian Health Project. RT 359:19-360:10.
2. The Sonoma County Indian Health Project (SCIHP) is a nonprofit corporation providing health care to Native Americans in the Northern California area, which does not have an Indian Health Service hospital. RT 582:2-13. SCIHP provides medical, pharmaceutical, dental, and behavioral health care services. RT 582:14-21. SCIHP serves an under-represented population because the ratio of population to physicians is much greater among Native Americans than other groups. RT 582:23-583:11.
3. Dr. Steele is a family physician who, following his education at Dartmouth Medical School and residency at the Oregon Health Sciences University, became licensed to practice medicine in California in the early 1990s. He began his family practice at Sonoma County Indian Health Clinic Project in 1993. RT 576:22…