San Diego Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Were you hurt because a doctor or healthcare professional made a mistake during your treatment in San Diego, CA? If medical negligence was the cause, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

A skilled San Diego medical malpractice lawyer can fight to get the full amount you deserve. 

For nearly three decades, Mission Personal Injury Lawyers has been fighting to help victims of medical malpractice across Southern California. Our 99% success rate speaks for itself–and we’ve already recovered millions in compensation for our satisfied clients.

Ready to start protecting your legal rights? Call us at (619) 777-5555 or contact our law firm in San Diego, California, to schedule a free consultation today. 

How Our San Diego Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help With Your Medical Malpractice Case

How Our San Diego Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help With Your Medical Malpractice Case

You trust your medical team to provide the care you need. When they make a mistake, you’re the one left dealing with the physical, emotional, and financial consequences. That’s not right.

Unfortunately, holding doctors and hospitals accountable can be difficult. They have insurance companies backing them up–and the insurance companies tend to hire teams of defense lawyers to fight you at every turn.

Mission Personal Injury Lawyers, can help. Our San Diego injury lawyer has over 25 years of experience fighting for patients like you. We’re not afraid to stand up to large corporations, hospitals, and insurance companies. In fact, we’ve faced off against some of the largest companies in San Diego–and won.

Our trial lawyers will:

  • Help you get the quality medical care you need
  • Investigate the malpractice to gather relevant evidence, including medical records, witness statements, and more
  • Find the fair value of your case by working with medical experts, vocational specialists, economists, and experts in other relevant specialists
  • Handle the complex paperwork and procedural requirements
  • Negotiate with the insurance companies to get the full compensation you deserve
  • Evaluate any settlement offer that the insurance company puts on the table

Do you have questions about a medical malpractice case in San Diego? Do you suspect that something went wrong in the course of your treatment? Our San Diego personal injury attorneys offer a free case review so you can get the help you need. Just give us a call today to schedule a time to talk with our attorneys.

How Common is Medical Malpractice in San Diego?

How Common is Medical Malpractice in San Diego?

Experts at Johns Hopkins medical center estimate that about 250,000 people lose their lives because of medical malpractice each year. That makes medical negligence the third-leading cause of death in the United States. In a single year, California victims of medical errors received about $263,974,600 in compensation.

Medical malpractice happens when a doctor or healthcare professional deviates from the standard of care expected in their field. In other words, medical malpractice occurs when your doctor makes a mistake that no reasonably competent doctor would have made under the circumstances.

At Mission Personal Injury Lawyers, our trial attorneys handle all types of medical malpractice claims in San Diego, including those involving:

  • Failure to diagnose
  • Misdiagnosis
  • Other diagnostic errors
  • Emergency room errors
  • Anesthesia errors
  • Birth injuries
  • Medication errors
  • Hospital negligence
  • Nursing negligence
  • Surgical errors
  • Pharmacy negligence 
  • Defective medical devices under California product liability law
  • Failure to obtain informed consent
  • And more

Medical malpractice can happen during any stage of your care. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, and even the hospital itself might be liable for damages if you were hurt because of a medical error.

What is My San Diego Medical Malpractice Case Worth?

The short answer is: it depends. You’re entitled to money to cover all of your financial losses. You’re also entitled to compensation for intangible losses, like your pain and suffering.

What Types of Damages Are Available to Medical Malpractice Victims?

Damages in medical malpractice cases fall into two general categories: economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are meant to cover your out-of-pocket costs. 

You might be entitled to compensation for:

  • Medical bills
  • Past and future lost wages and income
  • Ongoing medical expenses required to treat your condition
  • Diminished earning potential
  • Physical therapy
  • Rehabilitative care
  • Long-term care
  • Medications and medical devices
  • In-home help
  • And more

Non-economic damages include compensation for:

The California Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) caps the value of your non-economic damages at $250,000. 

This damages cap has no impact on your economic damages claim. In other words, you can recover an unlimited amount for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other financial losses.

Interested in learning more about how a San Diego medical malpractice attorney can help you get the full damages you deserve? Call our law offices today for a free case evaluation.

We’ll Fight to Recover Compensation for All of the Harm Caused by Medical Malpractice 

Some of the long-term consequences of medical malpractice can include:

At Mission Personal Injury Lawyers, we know what you’re up against. Medical malpractice laws in California are notoriously complex. Give us a call today to get the legal help you deserve.

What Are the Causes of Medical Malpractice in San Diego, California?

What Are the Causes of Medical Malpractice in San Diego, California?

Doctors and medical professionals make mistakes. They’re human. Medical malpractice happens when the doctor didn’t do what they were supposed to during the course of your treatment. That can happen for any number of reasons. Multiple parties might share in the blame for the mistake. 

Some of the common causes of medical malpractice in San Diego include:

  • Failure to order the correct diagnostic tests
  • Misinterpreting lab results
  • Failure to recognize the patient’s symptoms
  • Failure to take a full patient history
  • Failure to monitor the patient
  • General fatigue and overworking
  • Understaffing
  • Defective medical equipment
  • Lack of experience
  • Mistaken patient identities
  • Failure to refer a patient to a specialist when necessary
  • Failure to provide proper post-treatment instructions

If you were hurt and think your doctor made a mistake, don’t hesitate to reach out to Mission Personal Injury Lawyers for legal advice. Your consultation is 100% free–so it never hurts to get the opinion of someone with experience handling cases like yours.

How Do I Prove Medical Negligence in a California Medical Malpractice Case? 

How Do I Prove Medical Negligence in a California Medical Malpractice Case?

Doctors and healthcare providers are allowed to make mistakes. California law only holds them responsible for medical malpractice when someone gets hurt because the care provided falls below standards developed by the medical community.

These standards are called the medical standard of care. The standard can vary from case to case. 

It depends on things like:

  • The type of injury or illness involved
  • The patient’s age and medical history
  • Geographic location

To establish medical negligence, the plaintiff must prove:

  • A duty of care existed between the parties (for example, a doctor-patient relationship)
  • The medical standard of care for the case
  • The health care provider violated that standard 
  • The violation directly caused your injuries
  • You suffered damages

Proving medical negligence can be extremely complicated. At Mission Personal Injury Lawyers, we’re up to the challenge. We’ll bring in respected experts and specialists to provide insight into what happened in your case.

How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After I Was Harmed by Medical Malpractice in California?

Under the California statute of limitations, patients harmed by medical errors have three years to take action. You must file a medical malpractice lawsuit three years from the date of injury to recover compensation. 

However, patients have one year from the date they discovered the injury or reasonably should have discovered the injury to file their lawsuit. Because of the way the law is written, injured patients have a maximum of three years to file a lawsuit. But if you discovered the injury earlier, or reasonably should have discovered it, the one-year period will apply.

There are limited exceptions. 

You might have more than three years in cases involving:

  • Fraud 
  • Intentional concealment of the defendant’s actions
  • A foreign object left in your body

If you miss these deadlines, you lose your right to compensation. The statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases is particularly complex. Call Mission Personal Injury Lawyers as soon as possible so that we can take action to preserve your rights.

Notice to Health Care Provider

California state law also requires you to provide notice to the health care provider before filing the lawsuit. The notice must be given at least 90 days prior to filing suit. 

This notice provides information about:

  • The legal basis for the claim
  • The types of losses you’ve sustained
  • The nature of the injuries you’ve suffered

However, if this notice is served within 90 days before the expiration of the statute of limitations, you’ll receive an additional 90 days to file the formal lawsuit.

Contact a San Diego Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation

Were you hurt because someone on your medical team was careless? Contact Mission Personal Injury Lawyers today. Our experienced San Diego medical malpractice lawyers will do everything possible to secure the full compensation you deserve. Remember, your initial consultation is always free–so you have nothing to lose by calling.

Our personal injury law firm in San Diego, CA also provides: