Time May Be of the Essence to File Malpractice Claims in California
Something to keep in mind is that, as is the case in other areas of the law, California has imposed a statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases. This means, simply, those who feel they have sustained injuries as a result of medical malpractice have a limited amount of time to bring a case to court. California law says a plaintiff of his or her attorney has one year to file a malpractice claim following the discovery of the malpractice action. The plaintiff may also have up to three years from the injury date to file. Under the law it is whichever of these options applies first. If you believe you suffered an injury as a result of medical malpractice, the earlier you speak to a malpractice attorney, the better. If too much time elapses you may be unable to file a claim.
State Law Governing Orange County Residents
Medical malpractice is the term used to cover instances where you, as a patient, sustained an injury while under medical care. This area of the law is quite complex and we here in Orange County are subject to California malpractice law. Given the complexity of malpractice cases, you may or may not have the case. However that’s why it’s important to enlist the services of the medical malpractice attorney to determine the merits of your case and whether or not it makes sense to move forward. Similar to slip and fall cases—under the umbrella of premises liability in which defendants must adhere to a so-called duty of care—health care professionals who treat patients have an obligation to adhere to what is called a standard of care. We discussed this standard of care in more detail on the medical malpractice page of this website, but in brief it means that physicians or other healthcare professionals treating patients are expected to employ procedures or treatments that are generally accepted and widely used in the healthcare industry. When a healthcare professional deviates from these procedures it’s known as a breach of this standard of care. California malpractice law is similar to laws in other states but there are differences which California malpractice lawyers understand. Regardless, one of the complexities arises from the fact that is not sufficient merely to prove a doctor or other health care provider breached the standard of care, your attorney must prove in court that your injury was directly caused by this breach.
Orange County medical malpractice is a challenging area
California Malpractice Awards and Damages
As we detailed in a recent blog post, there are many factors that enter into awards and damages in personal injury cases. In some cases there are limits imposed by law regarding the maximum amounts that can be awarded. In other cases, there may be no limit, or so-called cap, on the amount of money which can be awarded to a plaintiff. The law uses terms such as compensatory damages—reimbursing the plaintiff for lost income or medical bills, etc.—or punitive damages, which as the name suggests is a method of punishing those at fault for the injury. In Orange County, under California law, there are no caps for these types of damages. When the plaintiff seeks compensation for intangibles like pain and suffering, loss of mobility, etc., referred to as non-economic damages, California has set a cap at $250,000.
Potential plaintiffs need to be aware of the sometimes labyrinthine process required to being a malpractice case to a successful outcome. Things like discovery and collection of evidence as well as enlisting expert medical witnesses to testify on certain aspects of a case all may play a role. The other side has a vested interest in negating your claims as well so it’s doubly important to hire an attorney with experience in all these areas to negotiate the process on your behalf. The statute of limitations and the merits of your claim need to be evaluated and you need to know where you stand legally as early in the process as possible.
For Orange County residents who feel they have a valid malpractice claim and want to pursue it, Kyle Scott in Tustin is an attorney with decades of experience trying (and winning) these types of lawsuits. For a free initial consultation, call his office at 714-544-1460 to discuss your case.