THRESHOLD LIABILITY ASSESSMENT
Once a new client contacts us, the Walkup Kaiser malpractice team knows the steps to take to obtain all relevant records, X-rays, and special studies, and create a timeline of care. We are consulting with our in-house M.D. J.D., as well as subject matter experts, in order to evaluate whether or not the care received was consistent with prevailing standards of care. Was there an error in the diagnosis? Were symptoms correctly recorded and evaluated? Were appropriate treatment options communicated to the patient? Were symptoms of systemic problems recognized, addressed, and halted before significant injury occurred? Was what happened here a known complication or a series of events that happened because proper and appropriate care was not provided? Are the economic damages and non-economic damages verifiable with documents or witnesses? Is further review and consultation with outside experts justified? Does a review of past Kaiser cases we have handled indicate that prosecution of a case against Kaiser will, more likely than not, be successful and result in recovery by the patient? Was the treatment here consistent with published guidelines, medical texts, and governing organizational standards? Would this injury have occurred except for the mistake, error, delay in treatment, or failure to treat consistent with national standards of care?
EXPERT SELECTION AND RETENTION
Locating, interviewing, and retaining qualified medical experts is critically important in the successful prosecution of any Kaiser medical negligence case. At Walkup, our medical negligence team has been working with experts from across the country for more than 50 years. All medical negligence cases require that the injured plaintiff provide persuasive, competent testimony from a qualified expert in the specialty of medicine involved. We understand that doctors who specialize in testimony are not persuasive, whereas physicians well regarded by their peers, including professors and attending physicians at major academic medical centers, are often the best possible experts. When it is difficult to find highly qualified experts, we work with a network of highly skilled lawyers across the United States who share witness information in medical negligence cases. Through such networking, as well as our association with firms that specialize in sourcing expert testimony, we find and retain the best possible experts who can tell our clients’ stories in a persuasive and compelling manner. When possible, we work only with board-certified experts in the same specialty as the defendant. We find experts whose backgrounds are similar to or exceed those of the defendant physician. We look at prior depositions and trial testimony of experts and ask for reviews from attorneys who have used them in the past. We know that experts who are calm, deliberate, and thoughtful are most persuasive. When possible, we look for experts who have published in scholarly journals, medical textbooks, or other publications. If necessary, we work with out-of-state experts in order to find the best possible witnesses with the fewest possible conflicts. All medical negligence cases require that the injured plaintiff provide persuasive, competent testimony from a qualified expert in the specialty of medicine involved.
BUILDING ECONOMIC DAMAGE CLAIMS
While Walkup’s Kaiser negligence team members are highly skilled in communicating and demonstrating damages for physical pain, suffering, disability, and emotional trauma, in California such “non-economic” damages have a hard “cap”. That cap prevents a jury from awarding a fair recovery by compelling judges to reduce any award to the amount of the cap. The general damage cap is currently $430,000. That is the maximum any patient who is harmed can recover no matter how badly they are hurt, whether they have chronic pain, paralysis, or disfigurement, and whether they are five years old, 25 years old, or 65 years old. This means that the recovery of economic damages becomes critical. Economic damages are the amounts of money recoverable for past lost wages, future lost wages, future lost pension, future lost financial support, past medical expenses, future medical expenses not covered by insurance, future household assistance, and future attendant care and nursing services not covered by insurance. These economic damages can be substantial. In representing clients in cases against Kaiser, we collaborate with a range of experts to build an economic damages case supported by evidence. We regularly work with physiatrists, physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors, neurologists, life care planners, economists, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and other professionals to help us submit a solid, trustworthy, and believable collection of evidence to support a major award of economic damages.
Kaiser Medical Malpractice Cases Overview