Medical Malpractice Claims

Personal Injury

California Medical Malpractice Law

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider—a doctor, surgeon, nurse, hospital, or other medical professional—deviates from the accepted standard of care and causes injury to a patient. At The Law Offices of Farris Ain, we understand the complex intersection of medicine and law that these cases demand, and we fight to hold negligent providers accountable for the harm they cause.

MICRA and California’s Malpractice Framework

California medical malpractice claims are governed by the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), originally enacted in 1975. For decades, MICRA capped non-economic damages (pain and suffering) at just $250,000—regardless of how catastrophic the injury. That changed with the passage of Assembly Bill 35 (AB 35) in 2022, which significantly increased these caps for the first time in nearly 50 years.

AB 35 Cap Increases (Effective January 1, 2023)

AB 35 created two separate cap tracks that increase annually:

• Non-death cases: The cap started at $350,000 in 2023 and increases by $40,000 each year, reaching $750,000 by 2033. After 2033, the cap adjusts annually for inflation at 2% per year.
• Death cases: The cap started at $500,000 in 2023 and increases by $50,000 each year, reaching $1,000,000 by 2033. After 2033, the cap adjusts for inflation at 2% per year.

These caps apply only to non-economic damages. There is no cap on economic damages—medical bills, lost wages, future care costs, and other quantifiable financial losses are fully recoverable.

Statute of Limitations

Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is:

• Three years from the date of injury, or
• One year from the date the patient discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the injury

Whichever deadline comes first controls. This “discovery rule” is critical because many malpractice injuries are not immediately apparent—a misdiagnosis, a surgical instrument left inside the body, or a delayed cancer diagnosis may not be discovered until months or years after the negligent act.

Pre-Suit Notice Requirement (CCP § 364)

Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in California, the plaintiff must comply with Code of Civil Procedure § 364, which requires that the defendant healthcare provider be given at least 90 days’ prior written notice of the intention to commence the action. The notice must specify the legal basis of the claim and the nature of the injuries suffered.

This pre-suit notice requirement gives the healthcare provider and their insurer an opportunity to investigate the claim and potentially resolve it before formal litigation begins. If the notice is served within the last 90 days of the statute of limitations, the filing deadline is extended by 90 days from the date of service.

Failure to comply with the 90-day notice requirement can result in dismissal of the case, regardless of its merits. An experienced malpractice attorney knows how to navigate this process and ensure all procedural requirements are met.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Medical negligence takes many forms. Based on our experience, the most common types of malpractice claims include:

Surgical Errors

Wrong-site surgery, retained surgical instruments, anesthesia errors, and surgical technique failures. These errors can cause permanent damage, require additional corrective surgeries, and lead to life-threatening infections.

Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis

Failure to correctly diagnose a condition—or unreasonable delay in reaching a diagnosis—can allow treatable conditions to progress to untreatable stages. Missed cancer diagnoses are among the most common and devastating examples.

Medication Errors

Prescribing the wrong medication, incorrect dosages, failing to account for drug interactions, or administering medication to the wrong patient. These errors can cause severe allergic reactions, organ damage, or death.

Birth Injuries

Negligence during labor and delivery can cause catastrophic injuries to both mother and child, including brain injuries such as cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy from excessive force during delivery, and maternal hemorrhage from delayed intervention.

Emergency Room Negligence

Failure to properly triage patients, premature discharge, misreading diagnostic imaging, and inadequate monitoring in emergency settings where timely intervention is critical.

Proving Medical Malpractice

To prevail in a medical malpractice case in California, the plaintiff must establish four elements:

• Duty of care: A doctor-patient relationship existed, creating a legal duty to provide competent care
• Breach of the standard of care: The provider’s treatment fell below what a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would have done under similar circumstances
• Causation: The provider’s breach directly caused the patient’s injury
• Damages: The patient suffered actual harm—physical, financial, or emotional—as a result

Expert testimony is required in virtually all medical malpractice cases. The expert must be qualified in the same specialty as the defendant and must testify that the defendant’s care fell below the applicable standard.

Available Damages

Victims of medical malpractice may recover compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering (subject to MICRA caps as modified by AB 35), emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and in wrongful death cases, surviving family members may bring a claim for loss of financial support, companionship, and funeral expenses.

“Medical malpractice cases are among the most complex in personal injury law. They require an attorney who understands both the medicine and the legal framework—and who has the resources to take on hospitals and their insurers.”