SAN BERNARDINO MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWYER

Building effective medical malpractice cases requires much more than extensive knowledge of the law. It also requires knowledge of proper medical procedures, techniques, standards of care, and other industry-specific information. Our personal injury lawyers have the knowledge and experience in handling a variety of medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits.

With multiple offices located in Riverside, Anaheim, Irvine, Los Angeles, El Segundo, and San Diego, our medical malpractice attorneys represent patients who have been wronged by their doctors all across Southern California. For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with an expert San Bernardino medical malpractice lawyer, please call 949-438-5829.

What Makes A Medical Provider Negligent In San Bernardino?

When a healthcare provider is negligent in his or her responsibilities, and that negligence results in injury or death to someone under their care, that person can be held liable for damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit. A legal concept, known as the “governing standard of care,” determines whether a healthcare provider is negligent. The governing standard of care describes how similarly qualified medical care providers would manage the malpractice victim’s care under the same or similar circumstances.

Although every medical malpractice case is unique, medical negligence generally results from one of the following situations:

• Prescription errors
• Surgical errors
• Improper diagnosis or failure to diagnose a medical condition
• Failure to provide adequate medical treatment
• Unreasonable delay in treating a medical condition
• Birth injuries
• Delayed diagnosis
• Emergency room error
• Wrongful death

Frequently Asked Medical Malpractice Questions

How do I sue for medical malpractice in California?

If you have been harmed by the negligence of a doctor or other health care provider, you can file a medical malpractice claim under California law for (not limited to):

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

How long do you have to file a medical malpractice suit?

You must file no later than three years after the date of injury or one year after you discover the injury. Once three years have passed, you lose your right to file a lawsuit against the health care provider.

Medical malpractice lawsuits by or on behalf of a minor child under the age of six must be filed within three years of the occurrence of the malpractice or prior to the child’s eighth birthday, whichever timeline provides a larger filing window.

California provides an exception for minor children in cases of fraud. If 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, the statute of limitations will be tolled (or stopped) temporarily.

There are a few exceptions to the medical malpractice filing deadline In California:

• If the health care provider conceals the medical mistake
• If a foreign object was unintentionally left inside a patient

What are the 3 types of medical negligence?

The three most common types of medical malpractice lawsuits are failure to make the correct diagnosis, birth injuries, and medication errors.

• Failure to Make the Right Diagnosis: This entails a doctor making a wrong diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis by failing to notice something that another doctor working under similar conditions would have discovered. It is estimated that about 12 million adults seeking medical care are misdiagnosed every year in the US.
• Birth injuries: Birth injuries occur during labor and delivery. An estimated 6 to 8 newborns out of every 1,000 in the United States have birth injuries, mostly broken bones, and damaged nerves.
• Medication errors: Roughly 1.3 million people are injured every year in the United States as a result of medication errors, according to MedicineNet.com. Medication errors occur either by a health care practitioner prescribing the wrong medication, too small or too large of a dosage, or a doctor or pharmacist giving the wrong prescription. A hospital can also be negligent if a patient is given a drug through a pump and the equipment malfunctions or is not working properly.

How do you prove medical malpractice?

To prove medical malpractice, you must be able to show all of these things:

• A Doctor-Patient Relationship Existed: You must show that you were treated by the doctor directly. You can’t sue a doctor you overheard giving harmful advice at a party.
• The Doctor Was Negligent: You can’t sue because you are unhappy with your treatment or results. You must show that the doctor was negligent in connection with your diagnosis or treatment. A key point at the heart of medical malpractice suits is whether the doctor’s care was reasonably skillful and careful or whether he/she deviated from that standard.
• The Doctor’s Negligence Caused the Injury: A difficult part of a medical malpractice suit is proving harm since in many cases the patient was already sick or injured when the alleged malpractice occurred. You must show that the doctor, whether negligent or not, caused the harm “more likely than not.”

What is the difference between malpractice and negligence?

To most of us, medical malpractice and medical negligence mean basically the same thing. To an experienced medical malpractice attorney, however, they are very different. Doctors and other medical providers have a duty of care that they owe their patients, but they can only do so much in any given situation. They can’t always prevent a bad outcome or save a life.

The duty of care is based on what a prudent person in the same position and with the same knowledge would have done in that situation. Medical malpractice is the breach of the duty of care by a medical provider or medical facility. The difference between that and medical negligence is that medical malpractice has the element of intent. The doctor or provider failed to treat a patient in a manner that they knew they should have and had knowledge that the failure presented an undue risk of harm to the patient.

Medical negligence does not involve intent. Medical negligence occurs when a medical provider makes a mistake in treating the patient and that mistake results in harm to the patient. Although negligent, the practitioner did not commit the action with the intent to harm or knowledge that it could potentially harm the patient.

Can a family member sue for medical negligence?

In wrongful death cases, only dependents or immediate family members of the deceased can sue on their behalf, or in some cases, non-family individuals who were left to pay for medical and funeral expenses can sue for reimbursement of their expenses. For other medical malpractice cases, only spouses, children, or other individuals who have been granted power of attorney by the individual who has been harmed can sue.

Contact an Experienced San Bernardino Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you or a close family member have been a victim of medical malpractice, consult with an expert San Bernardino medical negligence lawyer to protect your rights. During your consultation, your lawyer will listen carefully, explain California medical malpractice laws in plain language, and discuss your options so that you and your family can make an informed decision about which course of action is best.

The San Bernardino medical malpractice attorneys at the Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates can help you recover the justice you are rightfully owed. Our personal injury lawyers will build an effective case so that you can receive fair and just compensation to help pay for medical bills, lost time at work, and other expenses caused by the negligence. 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 San Bernardino medical malpractice attorney, please call 949-438-5829.