Los Angeles Medical Malpractice Lawyer

What Is Medical Malpractice in California?

Generally speaking, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional breaches the standard of care when providing a patient medical treatment which then causes injury to the patient. Standard of care is a technical term that refers to the generally accepted procedures and practices that the area’s medical practitioners would utilize when treating a patient suffering from a specific disease or ailment. The standard of care depends on a wide range of factors to consider such as the patient’s age, overall health, medical history, and past medical records.

However, establishing that a doctor has breached the standard of care is not enough to prove a strong medical malpractice case. Victims must still prove that the breach of the standard of care directly resulted in an injury. This is a crucial requirement that can prove to be difficult to verify and often requires the assistance of expert witnesses and medical records. In addition to these requirements, the scope of what the law considers as treatments in California malpractice cases is relatively broad as treatments are not limited to medical care or issuing prescription medication. Treatment occurs throughout the entire medical process a patient undergoes. For example, in some cases, a misdiagnosis of a patient’s actual sickness can be considered medical malpractice.

In California, a neglected patient has the right to seek reparation for catastrophic injuries and damages, which include actual medical costs, future medical care, loss of earnings, pain and suffering, and other losses. However, it is not easy to claim medical malpractice case damages against any health care provider. Aside from the fact that it is hard to prove negligence of the health provider, the other party will most probably be represented by insurance companies as well as defense lawyers who are adept in defending the rights of their clients. Also, due to the number of damages involved and the dangerous repercussions against the negligent party, they might not even be amenable to settle the claim with the victim and instead opt to go to court and provide their defense.

What to Do in Case of Medical Malpractice Claims?

Getting injured after an accident is bad enough. However some accident victims, instead of getting treated for their injuries are being inflicted with additional injuries, pain and suffering by some negligent and incompetent medical providers who should not be in the medical help profession.

Statute of Limitations of a California Medical Malpractice Claim

Besides trying to prove negligence and trying to interpret a state’s medical malpractice laws accurately, each state also sets their own statute of limitations for filing medical malpractice claims. The statute of limitations is the term used to refer to the timeframe in which an injured patient can file medical malpractice lawsuits against the medical provider. Once this window of opportunity has passed, the patient will then be lawfully barred from filing a claim against the accused.

According to California malpractice law, a victim can file a medical malpractice claim up to a year upon the discovery of the act of negligence that led to the injury or up to three years from the date that injury occurred. With such strict time constraints, acting fast and efficiently will be crucial for victims when reaching out to medical malpractice or personal injury lawyer to file their claims.

Types of Damages That Can Be Claimed

Economic Damages

Economic damages, which are also sometimes referred to as actual or compensatory damages are for quantifiable costs such as medical bills and expenses. Economic damages could also refer to the lost income because of being unable to come to work or work inefficiently due to the injury. California places no cap amount limit on this type of damage.

Non-economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate the victim for non-quantifiable damages such as pain, suffering, inconvenience, disfigurement, physical impairment, and trauma. Such damages in California are capped to $250,000, which means this is the maximum amount a court can award an injured patient in a medical malpractice case for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.

Punitive Damages

Lastly, punitive damages may also be sought after by victims in certain situations. Punitive damages are awarded as a way of the state to punish a medical provider for reckless behavior. Typically, patients and their legal representation must first prove that the medical professional’s actions involved either malice or fraud before they are awarded for punitive damages. Limit caps on punitive damages are non-existent in California for most medical malpractice claims.

Seeking the Top Medical Malpractice Lawyer Los Angeles Offers

If you are serious in claiming compensation from your injuries and damages due to medical malpractice, you need to contact some of the top medical malpractice or wrongful death attorneys los angeles has to offer in Mesriani Law Group. As one of the prolific law offices in Los Angeles, the attorneys of Mesriani Law Group have decades of experience in charging and penalizing negligent doctors and other medical providers for their lack of care towards their patients. As of date, Mesriani law firm in Los Angeles has over 20 years of experience handling cases involving medical malpractice and have resulted in hundreds of millions in award of damages on its belt serving its Los Angeles clients.