On April 13, 2017, plaintiffs’ decedent Kevin McLaughlin, 60, an inmate at the San Luis Obispo County Jail, complained of shoulder pain to the jail’s medical staff. He claimed that his pain was such that he needed to go to a hospital. An hour later, McLaughlin was found in his cell experiencing symptoms consistent with a cardiac event. Medical personnel began treating McLaughlin, and paramedics were summoned. Despite the efforts of the medical personnel and paramedics, McLaughlin died at the scene. The decedent’s mother Dorothy McLaughlin, and brother, Keith McLaughlin, sued the operator of the jail and employers of the jail’s personnel, the county of San Luis Obispo and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department. The McLaughlin family alleged that Kevin McLaughlin’s constitutional rights were violated. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the jail’s staff denied McLaughlin’s request to go to the hospital and were deliberately indifferent to McLaughlin’s immediate medical needs. Defense counsel contended that McLaughlin was examined by medical personnel and that McLaughlin allegedly agreed that his condition did not require emergency services. Counsel also contended that the county’s physicians and medical personnel provided medical services for McLaughlin that were within the standard of care., McLaughlin suffered a cardiac arrest. Despite the efforts of the medical personnel and paramedics, McLaughlin died at the scene. He was 60 years old, and was survived by his mother and brother. McLaughlin’s family sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their son and brother. Defense counsel asserted that McLaughlin’s brother, Keith McLaughlin, was not a proper plaintiff for a wrongful death case. Counsel contended that the decedent did not have a close relationship with his mother or his brother and that the decedent’s incarceration stemmed from elder abuse charges against his mother. As a result, defense counsel asserted that this case was really a medical-malpractice action subject to the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) of 1975.