Top Rated Medical Malpractice Lawyers Los Angeles
As both an attorney and a doctor, Bradley Kramer, M.D., Esq. is equipped to handle any medical malpractice case regardless of the type of injury suffered. Malpractice occurs whenever medical professional deviates from the accepted standard of care for his or her field of medicine. All doctors and health care providers have an ethical and legal obligation to give every patient responsible and safe treatment and attention.
Malpractice often results in severe injuries that can leave a patient debilitated for life. It is also one of the leading causes of wrongful death in California. If you or a loved one is the victim of malpractice, you should contact a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. At The Trial Law Offices of Bradley I. Kramer, M.D., Esq., our experienced principal attorney is a Los Angeles, California licensed physician and surgeon and is exceptionally qualified to handle your case.
We will aggressively fight to protect your rights and help you secure the compensation that you deserve. The care provider may be liable and owe you damages which may include medical costs (and future medical expenses), pain and suffering, mental anguish, rehabilitation, lost wages, and other associated costs.
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
Despite the best efforts of modern medicine, bad results sometimes happen after medical treatment that is simply no one’s fault. Not all patients respond to treatment, and some may even suffer further injury. There are many instances when a bad outcome is the result of malpractice.
Medical Malpractice may range from the acts of grossly reckless physicians and health care providers to the acts of good and respected doctors who displayed negligence in their treatment of a patient. However, the injured patient, in any case, has a right of recovery against the negligent provider.
Some of the most common forms of medical malpractice in California include:
- Misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose a serious disease or illness
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failing to provide treatment on time
- Prescribing the wrong medication or the wrong dosage
- Failure to provide standard follow-up care
- Misinterpretation of lab results (or lab mistakes)
- Inability to order necessary tests
- Anesthesia errors (such as incorrect dosages, wrong timing, failing to gather sufficient pre-operative information, failing to monitor a patient, etc.)
- Hospital or care facility errors (such as early release, providing treatment to the wrong patient, unnecessary treatment, medication errors, failing to monitor a patient, etc. properly)
- Birth injuries
What Must be Shown in a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
The injured party must show the following things to win:
- That the medical professional was responsible for your care and showed negligence. You must prove that the doctor or health care provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care in his or her field of medicine. In other words, the medical professional made a mistake that a reasonable and careful doctor would not have done under the same or similar circumstances. This usually requires the use of an expert witness to testify concerning the mistake.
- That the medical professional’s mistake caused the injury. It must be shown that if the doctor had not made a mistake, the injury would not have happened or would not have been as severe. Expert witness testimony is also used to establish this element.
- That the injured party experienced damages, such as a real injury. Physical damage can include any resulting damage or death from the health care provider’s medical negligence. It may also include such things as lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, the loss of a loved one, etc.
Dealing With California Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice types of lawsuits are subject to different laws than the typical personal injury claim and can be very complex. Strict rules and statutes of limitations for filing claims must be followed, and it is essential to secure the aid of an experienced Los Angeles medical malpractice lawyer that knows the law and understands the medical and scientific aspects of the case.
At The Trial Law Offices of Bradley I. Kramer, M.D., Esq., in Los Angeles, we have both the legal and the medical experience to build a strong case in your favor and help you get the compensation that you deserve.
If you believe that you or a family member is the victim of medical wrongdoing, call our office in Los Angeles, California at 310-289-2600 as soon as possible.
Q & A With Bradley I. Kramer, MD, Esq.
Do I need a malpractice lawyer?
Unequivocally. Without question, any person who believes medical malpractice injured them needs to call a Los Angeles medical malpractice attorney who has significant experience in the medical field. There are a lot of personal injury lawyers out there that have no experience in medicine whatsoever. I would submit that those malpractice attorneys are not well equipped to handle these cases.
The reason my office is so well equipped to handle medical cases is that I am a licensed physician and surgeon in the state of California, as well as being an attorney. When any person comes into my office, I can not only understand 100% what happened in that hospital or medical clinic but, on many occasions, I have performed that procedure myself. I have the ability to evaluate these cases in a way that almost no other attorney can do in Los Angeles County.
What are some of the most common claims?
There are a variety of claims that can be made in the same way that there are a variety of different types of vehicle accidents, be it car or truck or bicycle. The most common claims are usually going to be a surgery gone wrong or failure to diagnose. Those would be the two most common inquiries that I get. There are also some items such as pharmaceutical negligence, inability to treat, abandonment, and lack of informed consent.
We have also handled birth injuries, wrongful deaths, and pharmaceutical overdoses in clinics, hospitals, outpatient facilities as well as pharmacies, all of which fit into this category.
How do I know if I have a case?
The first step in any malpractice case is to get the medical records. Under HIPAA laws and California laws, every patient who receives treatment from a medical provider or a health care professional is entitled to view those records. The first step, in any case, is to get a copy of those files and to put them in the mail to an attorney who is knowledgeable about medical cases.
One of the biggest differences or benefits of retaining my office as opposed to a general personal injury attorney’s office is, when I receive medical records, I do not need to send them out to a physician to review them. I conduct all of the medical reviews of those records in the house. I can look at records and know in two or three hours, generally, whether or not there is a viable claim there. If there is, I will immediately bring that person in for an interview and talk to them about their case and what their goals are from that case, and get that claim filed.
It should also be noted that unlike car accident cases, the statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases is only one year. So, it’s a very short leash for these types of cases.
How does a medical malpractice claim differ from a personal injury claim?
Ultimately, a personal injury case and a medical malpractice case both involve individuals who were injured. The difference between these two types of cases is that in a malpractice case, that individual is going to need medical expert testimony to state that the injuries that they incurred were a direct result of that physician’s or that nurse’s failure to meet the standard of care.
Not only did the doctors do something that they should not have done, but that the indiscretion, failure to follow protocol, was a direct cause of the injury suffered by the individual. (30:01)
Does your knowledge in the medical field help you to pick the best expert?
Certainly. I have contacts within the community in virtually every discipline in medicine who could evaluate and act as an expert in cases. I have spent years developing these relationships so that I get an honest opinion from experts right off the bat as to whether or not a claim has merit. I do not go through multiple experts trying to get favorable testimony. When the physicians I have arrangements with receiving a case from me, they know that what I am looking for is an honest evaluation of those cases.
What kind of compensation can I receive for a surgical error?
Currently, in California, we have a very Draconian system in place called MICRA. And MICRA is a series of laws that limits the compensation for victims of malpractice. There are a variety of limitations, but the most notable one is that there is a $250,000.00 limit for all pain and suffering associated with a case and that involves anything from a surgery gone wrong, to loss of a limb, to wrongful death.
The only way to get above that limit is to have future medical needs as a result of that injury or to have lost earnings as a consequence of that injury. Outside of that, there are a lot of cases that are limited to that $250,000.00 cap.