If you have been injured due to medical malpractice, a California personal injury lawyer can help you find the right doctor to work with you through your recovery, even if you don’t have insurance. Accident victims are faced with a serious set of new problems, including physical recovery, emotional upset, a shattered routine for living your regular daily life. You are also met with sudden financial obstacles—lost income, medical bills pouring in. All of this is going on while you struggle to cope with pain. During this challenging period, you need to be able to focus on getting all of the medical treatment you need for healing. Your lawyer can also handle all of your medical bills, prescription fees, and communications with insurance companies. Additionally, your attorney will work to protect your rights and to make sure that you receive all financial compensation that you deserve for your injuries.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of California medical malpractice, call Johnson Attorney’s Group at 1-800-208-3538 to discuss your situation with an experienced California personal injury attorney. Ask for your complimentary case evaluation. Hablamos Español.
How Does an Injury from California Medical Negligence Occur?
The scope of California medical malpractice law covers a broad range of kinds of instances that can occur during treatment types across the field of medicine, in which malpractice can be found to have occurred. Examples of treatment in which medical malpractice can occur include:
- Direct medical care by a physician
- Issuing prescription medication
- Some cases of misdiagnosis
- Therapies
- Administration of anesthesia
- Support care by a medical assistant
- Hygiene care for surgical wounds
- Dental diagnoses and treatments
- Chiropractic procedures
- Numerous others
What is a Medical Malpractice Injury?
Generally speaking, an act of California medical malpractice has occurred when a healthcare practitioner has breached the “standard of care” in providing a patient with treatment. If the breach causes an injury to the patient, then the patient can file a claim of medical malpractice with the California civil court.
- Standard of care — This refers to the medical field’s generally accepted practices and procedures used by all healthcare professionals, in the area for treatment of patients who are suffering from a particular injury, disease, or other ailments. The standard of care can be adapted based on various factors, such as the patient’s overall current health, age, and medical history, among others.
- Breach of duty to meet a standard of care — However, showing that a doctor breached his/her duty, or failed to follow the standard of care is not sufficient to succeed in a California medical malpractice case. It is also necessary to prove that the breach of duty directly caused the claimant’s injury, which can be complicated. This frequently requires the testimony of expert witnesses
- Expert witnesses — This refers to medical experts who can attest to the causal connection between the doctor’s negligent action and the occurrence of the injury.
California Medical Malpractice Laws
Professionals who are classified as a “medical care provider” include medical providers in roles such as those listed below. These healthcare providers can be held liable for a patient’s injuries due to negligence, under California medical malpractice law.
- Physician
- Physician’s assistant
- Physical therapist
- Podiatrist (or any other medical specialist)
- Dentist
- Optometrist
- Chiropractor
- Nurse
- Certified registered nurse anesthetist
- Pharmacist
- Anesthesia Malpractice
- Emergency Room Medical Malpractice
- Hospital
- Surgeon
What Constitutes Medical Negligence in California?
Going into a personal injury claim in the California civil court, it’s important for the claimant to have a general understanding of what constitutes negligence in a medical malpractice lawsuit. A doctor may be held legally accountable under the California Civil Code for injuries that occur to patients as consequences of carelessness or negligence.
California negligence laws stipulate the following:
- Duty — People have a duty to someone who might be endangered by her/his conduct. For example, if your doctor fails to perform timely follow-up examination after surgery, and symptoms indicate that timely treatment could have prevented progression of an infection that causes further physical damage to the patient, the doctor may be found negligent.
- Causation — Claimants in negligence cases must additionally show that the doctor’s breach of duty did cause the injury and that the injury would not have happened if the doctor had not acted in the situation as she/he did. In some cases, the claimant must show just that a reasonable person can be expected to perceive that the doctor’s action contributed significantly to the patient’s (plaintiff’s) suffering.
- Breach — The court will examine the evidence of the facts of the defendant’s specific actions in the case. The plaintiff must show that the doctor (defendant) permitted a breach of her/his duty to occur. For example, if the doctor failed to review a patient’s medical record of prescription drugs, and then administers a medication that causes a drug interaction rendering a critical medication ineffective and leading to a heart attack, the court may find that a breach has occurred.
An Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help – Get a Free Medical Malpractice Case Review
If you have sustained a medical malpractice injury, contact Johnson Attorney Group to get your legal questions answered. We won’t charge you anything legal fees until we’ve won and settled your case. Plus, we’ll connect you to a medical doctor even if you have no medical insurance. Johnson Attorneys Group will take time to makes sure you understand the legal process. Call us 24/7 at 1-800-208-3538, and we will evaluate your case for free.
Medical Malpractice Resources
Failure to Diagnose
Medication Errors
Retained Foreign Bodies
When it is Medical Malpractice and When It’s Not
Medical Malpractice Insurance Coverage Basics
Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis
What is Patient Abandonment
Medical Malpractice and Informed Consent Laws in California
Using Expert Witnesses
