Lopez

FACTS

Medical Treatment Plaintiff and appellant Jessica Lopez was born in June 2003 with spina bifida, a congenital disorder resulting from an anomaly of the neural tube. Spina bifida is not caused by any medical treatment; it is a genetic condition. The only way to prevent a fetus with the anomaly from progressing to being born with spina bifida is to abort the fetus. Golden Care Medical Group is located in Van Nuys. Jessica‟s mother, Reyna Rosas, received prenatal care at Golden Care Medical Group on a number of occasions during her pregnancy with Jessica.1 A nurse practitioner saw Ms. Rosas four times between October 2002, and March 2003. A family practice physician, Dina Ross, M.D., saw Ms. Rosas once in November 2002 and once in December 2002.

1 Undisputed evidence in the record shows that Golden Care Medical Group was a registered “doing business as” (dba) fictitious name of Alejandro Gonzales in 2002 and 2003, when Ms. Rosas received medical care at the group. A dba is not a recognized legal entity; it is a registered fictitious name. The purpose of the registered dba procedure is to allow the public to identify a business‟s owner. (See, e.g., Ball v. Steadfast-BLK (2011)…