Not every bad outcome in medicine is malpractice. Malpractice is narrower: a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other provider did something a reasonably careful provider in the same field would not have done, or failed to do something they would have, and that failure caused harm. Williams & Gasparian Law reviews these cases for patients across Los Angeles County as well as the rest of California.
These cases have rules that ordinary injury cases do not: a required notice before filing, a deadline that starts when you discover the injury, and a legal cap on some kinds of damages. George Williams's practice has long included medical malpractice, and he spent twenty-eight years on the insurance defense side before representing patients.
Common Types of Medical Negligence
Each of these must be shown to fall below the standard of care, not merely to have gone wrong.
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. Cancer, stroke, heart attack, or infection missed when the signs were there to be read.
- Surgical errors. Wrong site, wrong procedure, instruments left in the body, nerve damage, or anesthesia mistakes.
- Medication errors. The wrong drug, the wrong dose, or a known dangerous interaction.
- Birth injuries. Injury to the mother or the child from a delayed cesarean, failure to monitor, or misuse of delivery tools.
- Failure to treat or follow up. Abnormal test results that no one acted on, or a patient discharged too soon.
- Hospital negligence. Understaffing, infections, patient falls, and communication failures between shifts.
- Lack of informed consent. A procedure performed without a real explanation of its risks and alternatives.
What You May Be Able to Recover
California law lets an injured patient claim two kinds of losses, with a cap on the second in malpractice cases.
Economic losses
- The cost of correcting the error and of future care it made necessary
- Wages you lost while you could not work
- Reduced ability to earn if the injury is lasting
- In-home care, equipment, and home modifications
- Other expenses the injury caused
Non-economic losses (capped by statute)
- Physical pain
- Emotional distress
- Loss of the activities you used to enjoy
- Disfigurement or permanent disability
Economic damages in a malpractice case are not capped. Non-economic damages are, at an amount that rises each year (see the rules below). We do not quote case values on this site.
California Rules That Apply Only to Malpractice Cases
- What you must prove
- That a provider-patient relationship existed, that the provider fell below the standard of care for their field, that the failure caused your injury, and that you suffered measurable harm.
- A medical reviewer is required
- Both the standard of care and causation must be established through a qualified medical witness in the same field. We do not file a malpractice case until an independent physician has reviewed the records and confirmed that the claim has merit.
- The 90-day notice
- Code of Civil Procedure section 364 requires that the provider be given written notice of the intent to sue at least 90 days before the lawsuit is filed. If the notice is served within the last 90 days of the limitations period, the deadline is extended by 90 days.
- Deadline to file
- Under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5, a malpractice lawsuit must be filed within three years of the injury or within one year of the date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury, whichever comes first. The three-year period can be paused for fraud, intentional concealment, or a foreign object with no medical purpose left in the body. For a child under six, a claim generally must be filed within three years or before the child's eighth birthday, whichever is later.
- The cap on non-economic damages
- Under the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act as amended by AB 35, non-economic damages are capped. For 2026 the cap is $470,000 in injury cases and $650,000 in wrongful death cases. Each cap rises every January 1 until it reaches $750,000 and $1,000,000 in 2033, then increases 2 percent a year. Economic damages are not capped.
- Attorney fee limits
- California law also limits the percentage an attorney may charge in a malpractice case. Your fee agreement will reflect the statutory limit.
- Arbitration agreements
- Many providers ask patients to sign an agreement to arbitrate. If you signed one, the case may proceed before an arbitrator instead of a jury. We review the agreement to see whether it is enforceable.
- Public hospitals
- A claim against a county or state hospital requires a written government claim within six months of the injury, in addition to the rules above.
What Happens After You Call
Five stages, from the first phone call to the day the case closes.
A free consultation
You tell us what happened. We tell you whether you have a case and what we would do first. No charge, no obligation to hire us.
Investigation
We gather the police or incident report, photos, witness statements, medical records, and video. When a case calls for it we bring in accident reconstructionists or treating physicians.
Dealing with the insurance companies
Once you hire us, insurers deal with us instead of you. We handle the calls, the letters, and the requests for recorded statements. You focus on treatment.
Negotiation or a lawsuit
When your treatment has gone far enough to know what your losses are, we send a demand. If the insurer will not pay a fair amount, we file a lawsuit and prepare the case as if it will be tried.
Resolution
Most cases settle. Some go to trial. Either way, we explain every offer to you in plain terms, and the decision to accept or reject it is yours.
Questions People Ask Us
You usually cannot know without a medical review, which is what the free consultation starts. Bring what you have: discharge papers, test results, the names of the providers, and a timeline of what happened. We will tell you whether the facts suggest a departure from the standard of care and, if so, arrange for a physician review.
One year from when you discovered the injury, or should have, and no more than three years from when it happened, whichever is first. A 90-day notice must go to the provider before filing. Because the discovery clock is short, call as soon as you suspect an error.
Because California law requires a medical witness to establish both the standard of care and causation. A case filed without that support will not survive. The review also protects you from investing months in a claim that a physician would not support.
A letter to the provider, required by law, stating the basis of the claim and the injury. It must be sent at least 90 days before the lawsuit is filed. Sending it does not commit you to suing, and it gives the provider's insurer a chance to resolve the claim early.
There is a cap on non-economic damages, which covers pain, distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. The cap on non-economic damages rises each year. There is no cap on economic damages such as medical costs and lost income.
No. It may change where the claim is decided, from a courtroom to an arbitration, but the claim itself remains. Some agreements are unenforceable because of how they were presented. We review the document before deciding how to proceed.
Talk to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Glendale
If you believe a medical error harmed you or a family member anywhere in California, call us or send the form. We will review what happened at no charge.
