Fitch v. Select Products Co.

Opinion

KENNARD, J.

May a Medi-Cal lien for costs incurred in treating a decedent’s final illness be asserted against a recovery in a wrongful death action when that recovery does not and could not include those medical expenses? The answer is “no.”

I

Elan Jay Fitch (Fitch or decedent) contracted cancer while working for the Southland Corporation (Southland) as a diesel mechanic. Medi-Cal, a program administered by the California Department of Health Services (DHS), paid the medical expenses to treat Fitch’s cancer. When Fitch filed a workers’ compensation claim against Southland, alleging that…