The criminal case against Pou quickly encountered severe pushback from both organized medicine and local prosecutors. The Orleans Parish District Attorney, Eddie Jordan, took over the matter from Foti's office to conduct an independent review. Jordan granted immunity to nurses Budo and Landry in exchange for their testimony, leaving Pou as the sole target of the grand jury proceedings.
In July 2007, the Orleans Parish grand jury voted not to indict Dr. Anna Pou on any of the ten counts presented to them. Public opinion in New Orleans heavily favored Pou, viewing the clinicians as heroic workers abandoned by local, state, and federal disaster infrastructure. DA Jordan dropped all charges, and Pou's arrest record was expunged. Attorney General Foti attempted to preserve the case through various legal mechanisms, but state courts reaffirmed that local prosecutors held exclusive jurisdiction over filing formal indictments.
| Phase / Action | Key Figures & Agencies | Core Legal or Clinical Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital Siege (Aug, Sep 2005) | Dr. Pou, LifeCare staff, Tenet Healthcare | Total power loss; 45 patient fatalities inside facility before full extraction. |
| Criminal Arrests (July 2006) | Louisiana AG Charles Foti, Pou, Budo, Landry | Arrests on second-degree murder charges; nationwide protests by medical societies. |
| Grand Jury Ruling (July 2007) | Orleans Parish DA Eddie Jordan, Local Grand Jury | Grand jury returns "no true bill"; all criminal counts officially dismissed and expunged. |
| Civil Settlements (2009, 2011) | Tenet Healthcare, Patient Families | Tenet resolves class-action and wrongful death litigation for an estimated $25M, $28M. |
| Legislative Reform (2008, 2010) | Dr. Pou, Louisiana State Legislature, AMA | Passage of Act 540 and Act 558, extending civil and criminal immunity during declared disasters. |
While the criminal charges collapsed, the civil consequences were significant. Tenet Healthcare, the corporate parent of Memorial Medical Center, faced dozens of lawsuits from bereaved families alleging gross negligence, inadequate evacuation preparation, and physical abandonment. Tenet eventually settled a sprawling class-action lawsuit for more than $25 million without admitting wrongdoing, while several individual wrongful-death claims naming Pou and the facility were settled confidentially or dismissed.
