Medical malpractice is any action for personal injury against a health care provider and is based upon professional negligence. A health care provider is defined by Cal. Civ. Code 3333.1(c)(1).
It is the duty of a physician to:
- Have the degree of learning and skill ordinarily possessed by practitioners of the medical profession in the same or a similar locality, under similar circumstances,
- Use the same degree of skill and care usually exercised by practitioners for the medical profession in the same or a similar locality, under similar circumstances,
- Use reasonable diligence in the application of the physician’s learning and skill.
Due to a law called MICRA, non-economic damages (e.g. pain and suffering) are limited to $250,000 in medical malpractice cases, no matter how horrific the injuries and negligence.