When you go to see your doctor or physician, you expect that they will take care of you in a professional manner, and that you can trust them. Part of this trust, although you may not realize it, is a legal obligation under tort law called a “duty of care.” This is a law in all 50 states that says medical professionals are legally required to provide a reasonable level of care to their patients, especially in any situation that could result in harm to their clients.
For example: if you went to a doctor with a broken finger, and they told you that it was simply a sprain and to ignore it, or they went so far as to amputate it, each of these situations are negligent, and a breach of the standard of care. You should be able to expect that a broken finger is treated as such, and taken care of properly. This failure to operate within a reasonable standard of care is known as “negligence,” and is something that a victim can file a lawsuit for.
How To Tell If Your Doctor Violated Their Duty of Care
If you have recently had a medical procedure that went wrong, a misdiagnosis of a disease that led to bigger issues, a misprescribing incident that caused serious side effects, or anything else that caused injury, your doctor may have violated their duty of care. Even if you are unsure, it is a good idea to speak with a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles, since they deal with these situations often and can give you a clear understanding of your legal options.
In some cases, the failure to provide patients with reasonable care is very obvious, like in a situation where a surgeon leaves tools inside a patient, or you were told that you were perfectly healthy and do not require any treatment, only to find out that you have an aggressive form of cancer. In other cases, the situation may not be so clear: If your doctor treats you for a disease or illness, and your conditions get worse, it is highly unlikely that it is a form of medical malpractice if they have treated you according to the current medical standards.
Filing a Lawsuit For Medical Malpractice
If you have determined that your doctor failed to uphold their duty of care, then you might be eligible to file a lawsuit to seek economic and non-economic damages. There is a damage cap for non-economic factors in California under the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act that says victims are only allowed to seek up to $250,000; it is important to note, though, that there is no cap on economic damages.
These caps are hotly contested, especially since they haven’t been adjusted for inflation since being put in place in the 1970s. $250,000 in 1975 was worth the same as over $1 million when adjusted for inflation. Hopefully these caps are revisited soon, but for the time being, victims are given very clear limitations on the non-economic issues in their lawsuit.
In a perfect world, nobody would ever need to question whether or not their doctor upheld their duty of care, but unfortunately, that is not always the case. If you suspect that your injuries are a result of medical malpractice, it’s probably time to talk to a lawyer and figure out what your best options are.