Los Angeles Hospital Malpractice Lawyer
Many people think about medical malpractice and assume that to file a lawsuit, it needs to name a specific doctor. While sometimes this is true, it’s also possible to file a claim against the actual institution as well. Generally speaking, hospitals are liable for their employee’s actions. If you believe you have a hospital malpractice claim, contact Dr. Bruce G. Fagel. He has tried and settled more medical malpractice cases than any other attorney in California. Call a Los Angeles hospital malpractice today at (800) 541-9376 for a free consultation.
Malpractice Resources:
- How to Win a Hospital Malpractice Case
- Elements of a Malpractice Claim
- Is Your Case Considered Medical Malpractice?
- Time Limits in California Cases
Why You Should Hire Dr. Fagel
If you’re looking for a hospital malpractice attorney, Dr. Fagel is a great choice for you. He is not only one of the most prominent medical malpractice attorneys in California, but he’s also a licensed physician. When you hire a lawyer, you want them to be intimately familiar with the law. Dr. Fagel is a highly experienced legal and medical professional, which gives you a considerable advantage when filing a lawsuit against other medical professionals.
If your child or loved one suffered from a birth injury in Los Angeles as a result of malpractice, Dr. Fagel is also an experienced birth injury attorney can is prepared to help your case.
How to win a Hospital Malpractice Case
In order to be successful in a hospital medical malpractice case, you must show that the professional who treated you, or failed to treat you properly, was a hospital employee, or that the hospital was somehow liable for the employee’s actions. Additionally, you must prove that the medical professional deviated from the standard of care when treating you.
The standard of care is defined as the level of skill, knowledge, and care in diagnosis and treatment that other reasonably careful practitioners would use in the same or similar circumstances. You are also entitled to this standard of car when in an emergency room. To show that your doctor or other medical professional deviated from the standard of care, you must also present evidence of professional negligence on their part.
According to the California medical malpractice statute, professional negligence is defined in the following way: professional negligence is a negligent act or omission to act by a healthcare provider in the rendering of professional services. This act or omission is the proximate cause of a catastrophic injury or wrongful death. The services must be within the scope of services for which the medical professional is licensed and not within any restriction imposed by the licensing agency or licensed hospital.
Four Elements Of A Hospital Medical Malpractice Claim
1. Duty
The doctor or hospital owed a duty to the patient. For example, a doctor has a duty to examine a patient when they complain of an illness. This usually includes a physical examination as well as gathering information on the patient’s medical history.
2. Breach
The doctor or hospital breached their patient duty in some way. If a doctor fails to take actions that a reasonably prudent doctor would have taken in the same or similar circumstances, there is likely a breach of this duty.
3. Proximate Cause
The breach has to be a proximate cause to the injury or harm caused to the patient. If the doctor failed to run a particular test that any other reasonably prudent doctor would have run in similar circumstances, and an injury or harm is suffered as a result, the proximate cause requirement is probably satisfied.
4. Damage or Harm
To be successful in a hospital medical malpractice claim, the patient has to actually suffer damages or harm. It isn’t enough just to show that the doctor or hospital was negligent.
Do You Have a Medical Malpractice Case?
If you believe you have a case of medical malpractice against a hospital or a doctor, it’s crucial to speak with a qualified lawyer. Hospitals often have what can seem like unlimited resources. They have their own lawyers and many other professionals whose only job is to make sure that the hospital is not found to be liable for malpractice in any way. This can become especially complicated if you are dealing with a wrongful death case.
When you hire a hospital malpractice attorney, they will fight for you every step of the way and help with every aspect of your case. They will determine if you are likely to be successful in a claim, and if they believe you can win, they will provide notice to the defendant and then file the lawsuit. After that, they will conduct research, speak with expert witnesses, and negotiate with the defendant and their attorney. If negotiations fail, they will prepare for trial.
What is the Statute Of Limitations in California?
If you want to file a claim against a hospital for medical malpractice, you must do so within three years from the date of the injury, one year after the injury was discovered, or when through reasonable diligence you should have discovered the injury, whichever occurs first.
Additionally, the claimant must provide the hospital and any other defendants with 90 days’ notice of their intent to file a medical malpractice suit. If the notice is provided before the statute runs out, but there are less than 90 days until the end of the statute of limitation, the deadline will be extended by 90 days from when the claimant provided notice to the defendant. For example, if the deadline to file is January 1st and the claimant provides notice to the defendant on December 20th, the deadline will be extended for 90 days. To be permitted to file a claim, the notice simply needs to be provided before January 1st.
Call a Los Angeles Hospital Malpractice Attorney
If you’re looking for a hospital malpractice attorney, you can’t go wrong with Dr. Bruce Fagel. He is an incredibly well-respected attorney in the legal community in Los Angeles. Everyone in the industry knows that when he agrees to take on a case, it’s only because he genuinely believes he can win. You will never pay him any money unless the case gets settled out of court, or there is a successful outcome at trial.
You can rest assured knowing that Dr. Fagel will work as hard as humanly possible to get you the compensation and justice you deserve. Dr. Fagel obtained a $460 million dollar medical malpractice jury verdict, which is the largest medical malpractice verdict in California history. Don’t look any further. Call a Los Angeles hospital malpractice lawyer at The Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates today at (800) 541-9376 for a free consultation.