Riverside Medical Malpractice Attorney

Riverside Medical Malpractice Attorneys

We trust that health care providers in Riverside will provide a high standard of care, perform their duties with competence, and, above all, observe the caregiver’s motto: first, do no harm. While most health care practitioners do provide exceptional care to their patients, a Johns Hopkins University study found that 250,000 Americans are injured or killed by medical malpractice or negligence every year. 

As with any profession, mistakes happen in health care, but some of them are preventable and are the direct result of medical malpractice or negligence. When a health care provider acts negligently or fails to act, the result can be serious, leading to severe and sometimes fatal injuries for their patients. If you have been a victim of medical malpractice, you should immediately consult with a top-rated Riverside medical malpractice lawyer to learn more about California law, your rights, and your legal options.

medical malpracticeThe Riverside medical malpractice attorneys at the Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates can help! Our personal injury lawyers have the knowledge and experience in handling a variety of medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. With multiple offices located in Riverside, Anaheim, Irvine, Los Angeles, El Segundo, and San Diego, our medical malpractice lawyers represent mistreated patients across Southern California. For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with an experienced Riverside medical malpractice attorney, please call 888-848-5084.

Who is the negligent party in a medical malpractice suit?

In most medical malpractice cases, the negligent party is a doctor. However, any healthcare provider or facility can also be sued for medical malpractice or medical negligence. At the Law Offices of Samer Habbas, we have built successful cases against the following healthcare professionals:

  • Dentists
  • Nurses
  • Anesthesiologists
  • Hospitals
  • Outpatient clinics
  • Surgeons
  • Obstetricians
  • Emergency care physicians
  • Other healthcare providers

What makes a healthcare provider guilty of malpractice?

It is important to note that not all injuries are grounds to pursue damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit. If a doctor or health care practitioner provides a reasonable level of care that a typical health care provider would have provided in the same situation, and the patient still suffers injuries, pain, or even death, it isn’t grounds for a lawsuit.

For a healthcare provider to be guilty of malpractice, we must prove the following:

  • The health care provider had a duty of care, meaning the patient sought and received care from them, and the provider was made aware of any injuries, ailments, or other health issues. 
  • The provider breached that duty of care, and that negligence caused injury or death to the patient.

Frequently Asked Medical Malpractice Questions

How do I sue for medical malpractice in California?

If you or a family member have been a victim of medical malpractice, you can file a claim against the negligent party. There are time limits as to when you are allowed to file, special procedural steps that you must take, and you must be aware of California’s cap on certain kinds of medical malpractice damages.

How long do you have to file a medical malpractice suit in Riverside? In California, you must file a medical malpractice lawsuit no later than three years after the date of injury or one year after you discover the injury. After three years, you lose your right to file a claim. 

Parents or legal guardians have three years from the date of the alleged malpractice to file a claim on behalf of minors. If the child is under the age of six, the parent or legal guardian has three years to file or has until the child’s eighth birthday, whichever timeline provides a larger filing window.

Under California law, the statute of limitations will be tolled (or stopped temporarily) for any period during which the minor’s parent or guardian, the defendant’s insurer, or the health care provider committed fraud or collusion in connection with the failure to bring a medical malpractice action on the minor’s behalf.

California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) places a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, such as pain and suffering, physical impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, and/or loss of consortium. 

How much is a medical malpractice case worth?

Victims of medical malpractice are entitled to monetary compensation because the damage caused by negligence normally cannot be fixed. Money also helps victims pay for future therapy, surgeries, and adaptive equipment. The average payout of a verdict or settlement in a medical malpractice claim nationally is approximately $242,000. 

There is a formula to determine how much money to award a victim of medical negligence or the victim’s family in a wrongful death case. 

  • Value = Economic Damages (past & future) + Noneconomic Damages (past & future)

This determines the value a jury places on your verdict. The challenge is to figure out what numbers to use in the formula. Past economic damages can be fairly easily calculated, but future damages are harder to determine. They include:

  • Future medical and therapeutic expenses, including surgeries
  • Future lost wages
  • Future adaptive devices like prosthetic limbs, medical devices, and wheelchairs
  • Future medications

Non-economic damages cannot be precisely calculated. They include past and future pain, suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, and inconvenience. These are subjective, and it is hard to know what value a judge, jury, defense lawyer, or insurance adjuster will put on non-economic damages. The cap for non-economic damages is $250,000 in California.

How do you know when to sue for malpractice?

In California, you can recover compensatory damages if you have been injured by medical malpractice and suffered financially due to (but not limited to):

  • Medical bills for medical treatments, medications, etc.
  • Home health medical care
  • Physical and occupational therapy
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life

You can also recover up to $250,000 in medical malpractice damages for non-economic losses you may have incurred, including:

  • Pain
  • Suffering
  • Inconvenience
  • Scarring
  • Disfigurement
  • Physical impairment
  • Loss of the use of an organ or limb
  • Loss of life enjoyment

What are the 4 D’s of medical negligence?

The 4 D’s of medical negligence are duty, deviation from the standard of care, damages, and direct cause.

  • Duty: medical practitioners have a duty of care for all of their patients to the level of what a normal practitioner would do in the same situation. A patient who is not in the direct care of a provider cannot claim that the provider had a duty of care toward that patient. 
  • Deviation from the standard of care: the “standard of care” is the type and quality of care that would be reasonably provided by a healthcare provider of the same status as the treating provider. A health care provider who deviates from that standard of care could be considered medically negligent.
  • Damages: the medical negligence of a healthcare provider, whether by action or inaction, resulted in real damages to the patient.
  • Direct cause: the injury, harm, or death suffered by the patient was directly caused by the provider’s negligence. 

Can I sue a doctor for emotional distress?

If a medical practitioner was legally negligent, then you can sue the negligent party for emotional distress. This compensation is available as part of the damages in a malpractice case.

Contact a Top-Rated Riverside Medical Malpractice Attorney Today!

If you or a close family member suffer from an injury and believe that a health care professional was negligent, contact a Riverside medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your legal options. The personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates have extensive experience in handling medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits. During your free consultation, we will thoroughly evaluate your case, answer any questions you may have, and explain complicated California malpractice laws in terms you can understand.

Pursuing a medical malpractice claim isn’t about getting even; it’s about receiving justice and preventing the negligent party from harming other people. With multiple offices located in Riverside, Anaheim, Irvine, Los Angeles, El Segundo, and San Diego, our medical malpractice attorneys represent mistreated patients across Southern California. For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with an expert Riverside medical malpractice lawyer, please call 888-848-5084.

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