Under California law, medical patients have the reasonable right to expect competent medical treatment from their physicians. Doctors, therefore, need to provide their patients with what is regularly referred to as a reasonable standard of care. This means that they will need to make all decisions based on medically justifiable reasons, in the best interest of the patient, and what is medically known of the patient. When a medical practitioner should have known about a certain medical condition or symptom, the medical practitioner can be held accountable for failing to provide the appropriate medical treatment.

Proving the medical standard of care is a difficult undertaking. Medical malpractice law acknowledges that a majority of medical situations will require medical professionals to make difficult decisions that have unpredictable results. Because of this, the medical standard of care can sometimes be regarded as being vague, as it allows varying situations for different needs. When asserting a medical professional somehow violated the reasonable standard of care, California courts will require a degree of proof that will only be achievable under thorough investigation.

Proving Medical Malpractice

As a result of the realities of the medicine practice, laws have been set in place in order to make it difficult to demonstrate negligence concerning medical treatment. In order to prove medical negligence, certain factors will need to simultaneously be proven. This will also need to be accomplished within California’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases.

Proving medical malpractice will comprise of demonstrating the following elements:

• A doctor-patient relationship existed between the parties;
• The medical practitioner failed to provide a reasonable standard of care or was otherwise negligent in the treatment of the patient;
• The medical practitioner’s lack of care or negligence directly contributed to the patient’s injury or harm; and
• The patient obtained injuries or other damages that are directly associated with the treatment he or she received from the medical practitioner.

Seeking Compensation Following Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice cases are fundamentally complex cases; still, medical professionals are not perfect and can easily make a mistake. When a medical error has caused the serious injury of a patient, California law protects the patient’s right to seek restitution for the harms committed against him or her. Injuries resulting from medical malpractice are serious and often debilitating. In many cases, these injuries can often lead to irreversible physical damages or even the victim’s death. By filing a medical malpractice claims, victims may be able to recover the following economic damages:

• Hospital and bills and related expenses
• Loss of quality of life
• Loss of employment
• Emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Wrongful death

If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of medical malpractice, consider seeking the legal support of a qualified attorney. With the support of a well-versed attorney, it may be possible to obtain the maximum amount of compensation available.

Attorney Albert E. Hirst has many years of dedicated experience helping victims of medical malpractice fight for their right to compensation. Consider contacting the firm today for a free case evaluation.