Poway Medical Malpractice Attorney

When you believe a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider caused an injury, getting a clear explanation of what happened can be difficult. Your medical records may contain hundreds of pages, several providers may have been involved in your care, and the hospital or insurer may already have attorneys reviewing the situation.

Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire has represented patients and families throughout San Diego County since 1978. Our attorneys have recovered over $2 billion in settlements and verdicts for injured clients, including significant recoveries in medical malpractice cases.

A Poway medical malpractice lawyer from our firm can obtain your records, consult independent medical experts, and determine whether the care you received fell below the accepted standard.

Call (619) 236-9363 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation.

"There's really no secret about what I do…I really do care for my clients; each case gets the same kind of attention my family would get."

— Vincent J. Bartolotta, Jr., Founding Partner

What Types of Medical Malpractice Cases Do We Handle?

A poor medical outcome does not necessarily mean someone committed malpractice. The issue is whether a healthcare provider failed to meet the applicable standard of care and whether that failure caused the patient's injury.

Our Poway medical malpractice lawyers handle claims involving:

• Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis. Cancer, stroke, heart conditions, infections, and other illnesses can become harder to treat when symptoms, imaging, or laboratory results are misinterpreted.
• Surgical errors. These cases can involve wrong-site surgery, injuries to nearby organs or nerves, retained surgical objects, and preventable complications caused by improper technique.
• Birth injuries. Failure to respond to fetal distress, delayed cesarean sections, and improper use of delivery instruments can cause lifelong injuries to a child.
• Medication errors. A prescribing, dosage, dispensing, or drug-interaction error can cause organ damage, serious reactions, or death.
• Anesthesia errors. Incorrect dosing and inadequate monitoring can result in oxygen deprivation, cardiac arrest, brain damage, and other severe injuries.
• Emergency room errors. Patients can be harmed when serious symptoms are dismissed, necessary testing is delayed, or they are discharged without an accurate diagnosis.
• Failure to monitor or follow up. Abnormal test results, changes in a patient's condition, and signs of complications require an appropriate response.
• Hospital-acquired infections. Failures involving sanitation, wound care, infection control, or monitoring can expose patients to preventable harm.

We also represent families after fatal medical errors through wrongful death claims.

Where Do Poway Residents Receive Medical Care?

Palomar Medical Center Poway is located on Pomerado Road and provides emergency, surgical, intensive care, imaging, pharmacy, and other hospital services. The Poway campus also includes outpatient and skilled nursing facilities. Poway residents receive additional specialty and hospital care throughout North County and the greater San Diego area.

A malpractice claim is not limited to an error inside a hospital. Harm can occur at:

• Physician and specialist offices;
• Urgent care centers;
• Outpatient surgical centers;
• Imaging and diagnostic facilities;
• Pharmacies;
• Rehabilitation facilities; and
• Skilled nursing facilities.

The location of the treatment is only part of the investigation. We look at who made the medical decisions, who employed or supervised the people involved, and which providers were responsible for each stage of your care.

How Can Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire Help?

Medical malpractice claims require attorneys to understand both the legal issues and the medicine behind the injury. Hospital records alone rarely provide the entire answer.

When you hire our firm, we can:

• Obtain records from the hospitals, physicians, laboratories, pharmacies, and other providers involved;
• Review imaging, test results, medication histories, surgical reports, and nursing notes;
• Establish a timeline of your symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and injury;
• Consult independent physicians and specialists in the appropriate fields;
• Determine which providers were responsible for your care;
• Evaluate how the medical error changed your prognosis or treatment needs;
• Calculate past and future financial losses;
• Handle communications with healthcare providers and their insurers;
• Take depositions and conduct discovery after a lawsuit is filed; and
• Prepare the case for trial.

A Poway medical malpractice attorney from Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire also handles California's procedural requirements, including the notice that must be provided before filing suit.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice?

Medical care frequently involves a team. A patient admitted through an emergency department could encounter nurses, an emergency physician, a radiologist, a specialist, a surgeon, and hospital staff before leaving the facility.

Potential defendants can include:

• Doctors and surgeons;
• Nurses;
• Anesthesiologists;
• Radiologists;
• Obstetricians and other specialists;
• Pharmacists;
• Hospitals;
• Medical groups; and
• Other licensed healthcare providers.

Determining responsibility requires examining each provider's involvement. A radiologist could have failed to identify an abnormality on a scan, for example, while another physician failed to act on later symptoms. In another case, the issue could involve hospital employees who failed to follow monitoring orders after surgery.

A Poway malpractice lawyer at our firm can investigate each point in the patient's care rather than assuming the last provider who treated the patient was responsible for the injury.

How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice in California?

A medical malpractice claim requires proof that the provider owed you a duty of care, breached the applicable standard of care, caused your injury, and left you with damages.

The Standard of Care

The central question is what a reasonably competent healthcare provider in the same field would have done under similar circumstances.

An unexpected complication does not establish negligence by itself. The records and medical testimony must show where the care departed from the accepted standard.

Causation

The provider's error must also be connected to the harm you suffered. This issue can become heavily disputed when the patient was already seriously ill or had a condition that could have progressed despite proper treatment.

For example, identifying a missed cancer diagnosis is only one part of the claim. Medical experts may also need to address how earlier diagnosis would have affected treatment options and prognosis.

Medical Records and Expert Testimony

Medical charts, imaging, lab results, operative reports, medication records, and nursing notes help establish what happened. Qualified medical experts then evaluate that information and explain whether the provider's care met professional standards.

Our Poway medical malpractice attorneys work with experts in the relevant specialties to evaluate both the provider's conduct and the connection between that conduct and the patient's injury.

If you have questions about care you received in Poway or elsewhere in San Diego County, call (619) 236-9363 for a free case review.

What Injuries Can Result From Medical Malpractice?

The injury caused by malpractice can be different from the condition that originally brought a patient to the doctor.

We represent patients and families dealing with:

• Brain injuries caused by stroke, oxygen deprivation, anesthesia errors, or delayed treatment;
• Nerve and spinal injuries following surgical mistakes;
• Organ damage caused by medication errors, surgical injuries, or untreated conditions;
• Infections and sepsis;
• Birth injuries, including neurological and developmental disabilities;
• Amputation when delayed diagnosis or treatment allows an infection or vascular condition to progress;
• Permanent disability;
• Additional surgeries and corrective procedures; and
• Death resulting from preventable medical errors.

Our firm represented a woman whose stroke symptoms were diagnosed as a migraine. She later collapsed from a stroke that left her permanently disabled, and her condition was worsened by repeated falls after she was left unattended in the hospital against her treating physician's orders. We recovered a $1.2 million settlement.

In another medical malpractice case, an MRI revealed a brain aneurysm that the treating physician failed to identify. The aneurysm could have been treated months before it ruptured. Our firm secured a $950,000 settlement.

What Compensation Is Available in a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical error can create new medical expenses while also preventing a patient from returning to work or living as independently as before.

Compensation can address:

• Corrective surgeries and additional hospital care;
• Rehabilitation and therapy;
• Prescription medications;
• Future medical treatment;
• Home healthcare and attendant care;
• Medical equipment and home modifications;
• Lost wages;
• Reduced future earning capacity;
• Physical pain;
• Emotional distress;
• Loss of enjoyment of life; and
• Loss of consortium.

Economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost earnings, are not subject to MICRA's noneconomic damages cap. California does limit noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, with separate caps for claims involving death and those that do not. The limits established under AB 35 increase annually through 2033.

The value of a claim therefore requires a review of both the losses that can be calculated financially and the damages governed by California's malpractice statutes.

How Long Do You Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim?

California Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5 establishes a different statute of limitations for medical malpractice than the two-year period that applies to many other personal injury cases.

Generally, an adult patient must file within three years after the date of injury or one year after discovering, or through reasonable diligence when they should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first. California law provides exceptions that can change this timeline, including provisions involving fraud, intentional concealment, and foreign objects left inside a patient.

California also requires notice to a healthcare provider before a professional negligence lawsuit is filed. Because discovery dates and other circumstances can affect the filing deadline, a Poway malpractice attorney should review the dates involved before you rely on a general deadline.

Why Choose Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire?

Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire has represented injured patients and families since 1978. We were among the first contingency fee law firms in Southern California, and our attorneys have recovered over $2 billion in settlements and verdicts.

Experience With Complex Medical Cases

Medical malpractice litigation requires substantial resources. Records can span several providers and years of treatment, and the case can require testimony from physicians in multiple specialties.

Our results include a $2.6 million settlement for a family after a physician failed to identify fetal distress and perform a timely cesarean section. The child suffered profound disabilities requiring constant care.

Several cases handled by our attorneys have also established legal precedents in California. Our trial experience spans medical malpractice, catastrophic injury, product liability, and other complex claims.

Recognition From the Legal Community

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® have recognized Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire with Tier One rankings in San Diego for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs.

Early in our firm's history, American Lawyer Magazine named Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire one of 20 outstanding new law firms in the nation.

Clients Know They Will Be Heard

Medical malpractice cases can require patients and families to revisit difficult medical decisions and records repeatedly. Our attorneys explain what we are doing, answer questions, and keep clients informed as the case develops.

"The group of attorneys at this firm are not only competent, experienced, and thorough, but they are also kind, caring, and patient. They make sure that everything is explained thoroughly and do not get impatient when questions are repeated or the client needs further explanation. If I ever need an attorney in the future, this will be the first firm that I call."

— Maria P., Verified Client Testimonial

No Upfront Legal Fees

We handle medical malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis. You do not pay hourly legal fees or a retainer while your claim is pending. Our fee comes from the recovery we obtain for you.

Speak With a Poway Medical Malpractice Attorney

If you believe a medical error caused your injury or the death of someone in your family, you do not need to interpret the medical records on your own.

Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire can review the care you received, consult independent medical experts, and explain whether the facts support a malpractice claim. Call (619) 236-9363 or contact us online for a free consultation with a Poway medical malpractice lawyer.