SIMI VALLEY : Plaintiffs Wrap Up Malpractice Case

Lawyers for the family of Joyce Ching called their final witnesses to the stand Thursday and wrapped up their medical malpractice case against two Simi Valley doctors.

The two doctors, Elvin Gaines and Dan Engeberg, testified briefly, confirming for the jury that they signed contracts with the MetLife health maintenance organization.

Those contracts are central to the Chings’ contention that greed motivated the two doctors to withhold specialized treatment of Joyce Ching when she complained of stomach pains during the summer of 1992.

Under the terms of the contracts, the doctors were offered financial incentives to avoid sending patients to medical specialists. Those incentives, attorney Mark Hiepler claims, contributed to negligence by the two doctors.

The doctors deny any culpability and say that an earlier diagnosis would not have prevented Ching’s death.

For 11 weeks in 1992, the two doctors refused to send Ching to a stomach specialist. When they finally relented, it was discovered that Ching had colon cancer. She died last year at age 35.

Defense attorney Michael Gonzalez said he expects the trial to continue another three days as he calls his witnesses. The two doctors are expected to take the stand in their own defense.

MetLife was not named in the suit, but the case puts on trial the payment policies of the entire managed care system.

Superior Court Judge Ken Riley earlier in the trial issued a gag order, forbidding attorneys from talking to the media outside the courtroom. Riley did not give a reason for the order.