In 2016, the medical malpractice attorneys at Estey Bomberger obtained the largest medical malpractice settlement in California state history. The case was brought on behalf of a young child, who sustained a permanent brain injury at a local California medical facility. The $20 million settlement was the result of an extensive investigation and preparation for trial by the tenacious medical malpractice attorneys at Estey Bomberger.

Why Choose Estey Bomberger

At Estey Bomberger, we have the resources to take on the most difficult cases. We work closely with dozens of licensed medical doctors and industry experts (the best in their fields) to gain a clear understanding of our clients’ needs and give them the best possible representation. From the early stages of our case, we hold “kitchen table” focus groups and roundtable discussions to understand the themes of the case and to ensure that your case is ready for trial should fair compensation not be offered for the harm caused to you or a loved one. From start to finish, we dedicate a significant amount of time and energy to every case. We handle a very limited amount of cases at a time so that we can get the very best result. Our firm is radically different than “settlement mill” type law firms that take on many cases with the goal of reaching a very quick settlement. Our case results are a testament to the effectiveness of our approach and dedication.

What Financial Compensation Can You Recover in a Malpractice Claim?

When medical negligence changes your life, you deserve fair compensation for every loss that you have suffered. California law recognizes several categories of damages that you may pursue in a malpractice claim:

Medical Bills: You can recover compensation for all medical expenses related to the malpractice, including emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgeries, medications, and rehabilitation. This covers both the costs you have already incurred and future medical care you will need as a result of the negligence.
Lost Wages: If your injury prevented you from working, you are entitled to compensation for the income you lost during your recovery period. This includes salary, hourly wages, commissions, bonuses, and any other employment benefits you would have received had the malpractice not occurred.
Loss of Future Income: When medical negligence results in permanent disability or long-term impairment that affects your ability to earn a living, you can seek compensation for diminished earning capacity. This figure considers your age, career trajectory, skills, education, and the extent to which your injury limits your professional opportunities.
Pain and Suffering: These damages address the physical pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, and reduced quality of life you have experienced due to medical negligence. California imposes limits on these damages in medical malpractice cases.
Punitive Damages: In cases involving egregious misconduct or intentional harm, the courts may award punitive damages to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar behavior.

Calculating the full value of your medical malpractice claim requires thorough investigation and expert analysis. At Estey & Bomberger, LLP, our attorneys work with medical professionals, economists, and life care planners to build a comprehensive picture of your losses—both present and future.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice in San Diego?

Doctors and surgeons aren’t the only parties who can be held liable for medical malpractice. These lawsuits can be filed against any licensed healthcare professional or facility whose negligence causes patient harm. The scope of potential defendants is broader than many people realize.

Liability may extend to:

Nurses
Anesthesiologists
Physician assistants
Pharmacists
Radiologists
Hospitals
Surgical centers
Urgent care facilities
Nursing homes

Medical professionals are liable when their actions fail to meet the accepted standard of care. Healthcare facilities can also be held accountable for their employees’ negligence or for systemic failures in patient care protocols. In some cases, multiple parties share responsibility for a single injury.

What is Medical Malpractice?

“Malpractice” is a legal term that simply means that a physician acted negligently. Malpractice can result from a mistaken action or from inaction (failing to do something that should have been done). In order to recover money in a lawsuit, you must demonstrate that you have been harmed by this negligence. This is called “causation.” Proving causation may be the trickiest part of your case. It is not enough to just show that you have suffered harm, you must bring at least one expert witness, usually another doctor, to testify and explain how the medical provider’s mistake or omission caused your injury.

Understanding Medical Malpractice

Some examples of medical malpractice are blatant: for example, “wrong site” surgeries, where the wrong body part is operated on. There have also been several infamous “retained surgical instruments” cases, where a tool such as a tweezer or sponge is left inside a patient’s body cavity. More often, however, potential medical malpractice cases aren’t so cut-and-dried. These cases require extensive investigation to determine whether the attending physicians and medical staff were derelict in their duties.

Medical malpractice is particularly common in hospitals and during surgeries. Mistakes on the part of hospital staff (administering too much or too little anesthesia, or failing to monitor vital signs) can result in permanent injury, brain damage, or death. Mistakes in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) lead to as many as 40,000 patient deaths each year, according to a Johns Hopkins Study.

Choosing the Right Medical Malpractice Attorney for Your Case

If someone close to you has, while receiving medical care, developed a significant illness or infection, sustained an injury, or died, you may be wondering about your legal rights: specifically, whether you can recover damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit. That question depends largely on the medical malpractice attorneys you choose to represent you.

Under the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) of 1975, the amount of non-economic compensation (pain and suffering) injury victims may receive has been strictly limited to $250,000. A number of lawyers are hesitant to take on medical malpractice cases because the cost of taking a case to trial will many times exceed the compensation cap imposed by MICRA. Unlike other types of personal injury claims where an insurance provider can simply negotiate a settlement, doctors often have the final say in whether a settlement is approved, and some doctors will refuse to settle.

Fortunately, the medical malpractice attorneys at Estey Bomberger fight for injured patients and for their rights. When it comes to obtaining fair compensation for their clients, they have a 99% success rate. This is due in part to the fact that they only accept a select few cases a year. Steve Estey and Mike Bomberger, the founders of the firm, focus all of their time, energy, and resources on one thing – winning your medical malpractice case. When Estey Bomberger takes your case, the founding attorneys themselves personally handle it. Your case won’t be delegated to inexperienced associate attorneys.

Types of Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle

Recently, we also won a $2 million settlement involving a doctor who failed to perform an AFP blood test during pregnancy resulting in birth of a child with physical defects and a $1.75 million settlement in a medical malpractice case for severe injuries to an infant due to alleged negligence in the birth process. Contact us if you have a medical malpractice case that involves:

What is a Medical Standard of Care?

There is a special relationship between healthcare providers and patients. Doctors and nurses have a duty to provide a certain standard of care to patients. Standard of care is the degree of care that would be provided by an average doctor or medical care provider that practices that provider’s specialty. The standard of care takes into account the resources, knowledge, and technology available to the provider. In other words, what would an average physician typically do in this circumstance? When evaluating your potential case, we will look at the standard of care that was required, and whether or not it was met.

When Should You File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

Time is a critical factor in medical malpractice cases. California law imposes strict deadlines—known as statutes of limitations—that restrict how long you have to file a claim. Generally, you must file within one year from the date you discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the injury. If there are circumstances that prevented you from discovering the injury sooner, you have up to three years to file.

Missing these deadlines typically means losing your right to pursue compensation entirely, regardless of how strong your case may be. If you suspect that medical negligence has occurred, contact Estey & Bomberger, LLP right away to discuss your legal options and initiate your claim.

Start Your Legal Recovery Today

If you have been injured, don’t delay. Consult our medical malpractice attorneys to see if you may be entitled to damages. Under our contingency fee agreement, we will advance all costs related to your case. You will only pay for our services if we win your case.

San Diego Medical Malpractice Lawyers