Question

Ben quit being a doctor to join the fire department as a firefighter. At the scene of a fire, Ben performed an emergency surgical procedure on Lexie because he thought it would take too long to get her to the hospital. Unfortunately, Lexie later died. Lexie's family blamed Ben. They thought it was irresponsible for a firefighter to give medical care so they sued Ben for $1 million due to Lexie's wrongful death. When the process server gave Ben a copy of the complaint, Ben was shocked. He put his complaint in his locker. He just wanted to forget about it. What will happen if Ben does not take some action with respect to the complaint?

a) Ben can write a letter to the judge explaining the situation and the case will be thrown out.
b) The plaintiffs can seek a default judgment and Ben will be found responsible for Lexie's death.
c) Nothing will happen. Ben can forget about it.
d) Ben can call the court on the phone and get the case dismissed

Answer 1

Ignoring the complaint against him, Ben risks a default judgment being entered, where the plaintiffs could win the case by default and he could be held responsible for Lexie's death and be required to pay damages.

Step-by-step explanation:

If Ben does not take action with respect to the complaint, the realistic outcome is option b) The plaintiffs can seek a default judgment and Ben will be found responsible for Lexie's death. In legal proceedings, if a defendant does not respond to a complaint by the given deadline, the plaintiff may ask the court for a default judgment, which is essentially a judgment in favor of the plaintiff because the defendant has not defended themselves or contested the case.

Ben ignoring the complaint does not make it go away and failing to respond could result in the court ruling that he must pay the $1 million to Lexie's family by default.