Medical Malpractice

Medical Malpractice occurs when a doctor, surgeon, or other licensed healthcare provider acts negligently, causing injury or death to a patient. In the context of a medical malpractice action, the term “acts negligently” means that the health care provider failed to do what other competent qualified providers would do under the same or similar circumstances. This requires expert testimony.

In addition to proving that the health care provider acted negligently, it is also necessary to prove that such negligence caused harm. Obviously, causation is clearer in some cases than in other cases. If the doctor negligently operated on the wrong leg or misreads an x-ray, causation may be quite simple. However, the vast majority of cases require an experienced medical malpractice attorney to relate the health care provider’s negligence to an actual harm to the patient. Only an experienced medical malpractice attorney can assist you in evaluating whether or not you have a case and can then assist you in identifying the proper responsible parties. If you or a loved one has been suffered serious injury or death as a result of what you believe to be Medical Malpractice, contact a California Medical Malpractice Attorney immediately.

California laws allow an injured patient or family to seek monetary damages caused as a direct a result of such negligence. Only an experienced medical malpractice attorney can assist you in determining what damages you are entitled to claim, who are the appropriate claimants and what proof would be required. The goal of the law is designed to place parties in the position that they were prior to the negligence, including awarding monetary damages for economic and non economic losses.  Examples of economic losses are: past and future medical expenses [doctors, hospital, nursing, rehabilitation, therapy, and medications] and past and future loss of income. Examples of non economic losses are:  pain, suffering, disfigurement, embarrassment, and emotional distress.

Medical malpractice cases are one of the more expensive cases to prosecute given that expert testimony is required, and commonly more than one expert. Therefore, only cases involving serious injury or death justify the efforts in pursuing such cases.

There are statutory deadlines to file a medical malpractice claim in California, commonly referred to as the "statute of limitations". These deadlines are unique to medical malpractice claims.  As an example, you may have two years to file a claim arising from an auto accident. Under current law, you may have only one year to file a claim for medical malpractice.  Moreover, this deadline is further limited if a governmental agency is responsible for such medical negligence. Examples of governmental agencies include county hospitals or clinics. Do not assume that the deadline will be extended due to physical or emotional difficulties caused by the malpractice. Therefore, it is critical that you contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible.

The following are various types of Medical Malpractice cases handled by the Law Offices of Neil M. Howard:

If you feel that you or a loved one have been a victim of medical malpractice, and that significant damages resulted from such negligence, call the Law Offices of Neil M. Howard today and see how we can help.