Unpreparedness for hospitals now has a clear cost which may change the perceived value of hospital Emergency Management programs.

This settlement sends a message and sets a clear precedent on how future performance of hospitals during disasters will be judged.  In conducting the cost benefit assessment of disaster preparedness, sometimes it is not cost effective to mitigate liability from low probability events.  A $25 million dollar payout, even on rare events, may be worth mitigating for a fraction of that cost.