Where do I begin to describe a woman and attorney as wonderful as Nora Hovsepian.
She has had an impact on my life that I can't measure. When my family came to this country, I was told, here, justice prevails. But I have learned by watching Nora over 5 years handle my family's case, that it only does so, in the right hands and heart.
Nearly six years ago, after hundreds of futile calls to find an attorney for my father's wrongful death due to medical malpractice, I stumbled upon Nora by sheer fate. Fortuitously, her name landed in my hands.
She is one of few attorneys in the state who fight for patients whose medical negligence claims are limited by the grossly unjust and outdated law in CA called MICRA.
I was struggling to find closure because I knew my father's death was preventable and had to cope with additional hurt because of the hospital's attempts to lie, conceal, destroy records, and simply avoid responsibility at all costs, no matter how unethical the road to get there. And to add insult to injury, I was repeatedly told by hundreds of attorneys that the case is not worth fighting for because of a 50-year old CA law which caps recovery on medical malpractice to an amount so low in today's dollars that it doesn't make financial sense to pursue the case because of the costs of litigation. It was as if the system victimized our family a second time. So the very first thing I am thankful for about Nora, is her very existence and having the courage and faith to take our case to begin with. But then Nora took it further, to not only take a case that was not lucrative simply to help our family find closure and justice, but she poured her heart into it over the next 5 years.
And finally, on March 16, 2020, our family heard 12 jurors unanimously hold Providence Little Company of Mary in Torrance accountable in the death of my father and bring our family closure, healing and justice.
The verdict was a direct result of the exceptional work ethic of Nora. She was an inspiration to watch in trial-- always calm, always composed, but always fierce. She came to trial every day prepared. She asked the most thoughtful questions while making a sincere impression on the jury on how my father's death was due to gross negligence and how the loss impacted our life. And during 10 days of an emotional trial, I had the great pleasure of witnessing her outstanding work in action.
And as the jury read out the verdict one juror at a time, I had the pleasure of sitting across from Nora, watching her reaction. Her gentle smile as each juror read out their decision was loving. And her warm embrace of my mother after the final juror read their verdict was sincere and closed a difficult chapter for my family with justice and hope for improved patient safety. Watching her smile and embrace of my mother is probably my favorite memory of her and it reminded me of the great honor to know her.
And Marti her assistant is also such a gem. The two of them together make a wonderful and powerful team.
I remember the final days of trial vividly. Nora was near the end of trial at closing statements. Court adjourned for a lunch break and Nora asked if it would be ok for her to step aside to prep her rebuttal speech. In what was probably less than 5 minutes, she prepared the most powerful rebuttal speech and then spent the remainder of that final break with our family to provide us support as the end of a difficult 5 year process was coming to an end. As she gave that final rebuttal speech, I became even more in awe of the woman who I grew to immensely admire and her many talents-- including her ability to capture our family's hearts and the essence of the case so quickly and so profoundly.
Nora's final remarks reminded us and the jury that Martin Luther King promised that the arc of universe is long but it bends towards justice.
Thanks to Nora Hovsepian who brilliantly laid out the facts -- 12 jurors bent our arc towards justice.
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