There was a time when patients believed their doctors could do no wrong. Sadly, that is no longer the case. In fact, medical malpractice is the number one area where wrongful death cases are filed. In this article, we take a look at the standard of care issue that is central to most medical malpractice cases.

The rule of law in this country is based on a number of general concepts. The paramount factor is "duty". You must have a duty to do something and breach that duty before you can ever be found liable for anything. For example, you have a duty to drive a car while competent to do so,moncler outlet. If you drink all night and get behind the wheel with a .2 blood alcohol level, you've breached that duty and can be found liable for doing so.

Defining the duty and breach there of in medical malpractice cases is a bit more difficult. Back problems are a major health problem these days. The medical course of action in some cases is a discectomy in which surgery is performed on a herniated disk to provide relief to the patient,moncler. Well, what happens if the surgery does not produce relief? Did the doctor commit malpractice? More specifically, what is the doctor's duty in the specific case? The answer is found in the standard of care.

A doctor is not a miracle worker. Some medical treatments just don't work. Under no condition is a physician required to produce a perfect result. That physician, however, has a duty to perform up to the standard of care in the medical community. The standard of care is simply the minimum level of performance that a specific group of physicians would perform at when faced with the same medical condition. Let's look at an example.

I go into the doctor for a pain in my stomach. The doctor asks me a bunch of questions and has an x-ray taken,gucci bags outlet. He chalks it down to a muscle strain and sends me home with a prescription for pain killers. A month later I go to the emergency room in major pain and am diagnosed with stomach cancer. I die six months later and my wife sues for wrongful death based on medical malpractice. Expert testimony establishes that the standard of care required the doctor to also perform a blood test which would've shown the cancer. He had a duty to perform to the level of the standard of care, but breached it by failing to do the blood test like other doctors would have. Please note this is entirely a hypothetical and doesn't reflect the true issues in such a case,gucci outlet.

One caveat that arises with the standard of care is the pool of doctors considered. Some jurisdictions look to what the doctors in the immediate community would do. Some states require a jury to look to a statewide or even national standard. The differences can be surprising and also lead to very different results in cases that have very similar facts.




If someone looses a loved one in a fatal car accident due to the negligence or recklessness of a third party, or if a mishap on a construction site makes one loose a family member, the bereaved person can always file for a wrongful death case. This case can even be filed a family member is lost due to sheer negligence of a doctor. All the above,cheap gucci bags, and many more, constitute wrongful death cases. The law in California allows the relatives of the victims of wrongful death, to sue for wrongful death claim. However, these are difficult cases to handle and one can best be served by an aggressive wrongful death attorney in Los Angeles,replica uggs.

Most personal injury lawyers in Los Angeles also handle wrongful death cases as someone who is seriously injured in an accident may subsequently die of those injuries.

Statute Of Limitations

The wrongful death cases are governed by certain statute of limitations. The first of which is that a lawsuit in a wrongful death case in California must be filed within 2 years from the date of the incident that caused the death. This is mandatory for failing this, the dependents of the victim loose all the right to sue and seek compensation.

There are, however, exceptions to this rule in case the wrongful death was due to medical malpractice, or due to construction faults, and the like. These limitations, as well as exceptions are well known to a wrongful death attorney who would definitely ensure the filing of the case within time.

If the wrongful death has been caused by a government entity, then the claim needs to be filed with that entity within 6 months of the incidence.

Who Can File A Claim?

Not anyone and everyone is entitled to sue for the compensation for wrongful death. The law permits only the following people to file for such claims

* Surviving spouse, child/children of the victim of wrongful death, or a domestic partner.
* Any dependant on the victim; like the stepchildren, parents, a supposed spouse, or children of the supposed spouse.
* A minor who resided in the victim??s house for at least 180 days prior to the death.

It may be difficult to assess who rightfully qualifies to sue for wrongful death and who does not. It is therefore advised to people who are planning to file a wrongful death claim case to first check the validity of their case and the best recourse for this can be to consult with a competent wrongful death attorney to find out whether the case has any chance or not

Lawyer??s Fees

A wrongful death attorney mostly represents his/her clients on a contingency fee basis. This signifies that one does not need to pay any fee in advance, and the lawyer will only be paid an agreed upon percentage of the compensation awarded by the law. And in case, the case is lost and the family or the dependents of the victim do not get compensated, the lawyer does not get paid at all.