California Medical Laws
Recent changes impact Sacramento medical malpractice and Santa Rosa medical malpractice
California law keeps pace with the needs of consumers and how medical malpractice can be avoided. Here are some of the key California medical laws.
Cap on non-economic damages
In California, including Santa Rosa and Sacramento, medical malpractice law caps the amount of money a medical malpractice victim can claim for non-economic damages at $250,000. A RAND Corporation study found that this law reduces payouts by 30 percent. The study also determined that payments in wrongful death lawsuits involving medical malpractice suffer the most.
Cultural and linguistic competency
In 2005, an amendment to California's Medical Practice Act passed that requires "all continuing medical education courses shall contain curriculum that includes cultural and linguistic competency in the practice of medicine." This amendment impacts and should strive to lessen the frequency of medical practitioners failing to inform a patient of risks associated with certain procedures or uses of alternative medicine when communication had been hampered by cultural and language barriers. Throughout the state, including Sacramento and Santa Rosa, medical malpractice law keeps abreast with the needs of the consumer community. At Teal Montgomery & Henderson, we keep up to date on the laws so we can pursue your medical malpractice suit with the confidence necessary to win you maximal recovery.
Practice of alternative medicine
In 2002, the California Senate passed a bill (SB 577) allowing consumers access to alternative medicine practitioners. The bill, however, does stipulate some caveats. The practitioner violates the law if he or she -
- Conducts surgery or any other procedure on another person that punctures the skin or harmfully invades the body
- Administers or prescribes X-ray radiation to another person
- Prescribes or administers drugs or controlled substances to another person
- Recommends the discontinuance of drugs or controlled substances prescribed by an appropriately licensed practitioner
- Willfully diagnoses and treats a physical or mental condition of any person under circumstances or conditions that cause or create a risk of great bodily harm, serious physical or mental illness, or death
- Sets fractures
- Treats lacerations or abrasions through electrotherapy
- Holds out, states, indicates, advertises, or implies to a client or prospective client that he or she is a physician or surgeon
In Sacramento, medical malpractice laws—including this amendment—protect the consumer from improper treatments and misdiagnoses.
Pain management and end of life care
The California Senate passed a bill (AB 487) concerning pain management and end of life care in 2001. Specifically, the law states: "The Division of Medical Quality shall develop standards before June 1, 2002, to assure the competent review in cases concerning the management, including, but not limited to, the undertreatment, undermedication, and overmedication of a patient's pain." Further, the bill required standards by mid-2002 for the investigation of complaints concerning the management, including, but not limited to, undertreatment, undermedication, and medication of pain and to include in its annual report to the Legislature a description of actions relating to that practice. It also required physicians and surgeons to complete a mandatory continuing education course in the subjects of pain management and the treatment of terminally ill and dying patients by December 31, 2006, except that it would not apply to physicians practicing in pathology or radiology specialty areas.
In Santa Rosa, medical malpractice laws—including this amendment to the Medical Practices Act—are intended to restrict the frequency of medical malpractice. Failure to comply with a Santa Rosa medical malpractice law can result in revocation of the doctor's license to practice medicine.
Free consultations for victims of medical malpractice errors
We offer a free telephone, online, or in-person consultation. Our Santa Rosa and Sacramento medical malpractice attorneys listen to you, consider the facts, and give you our best advice. For the Santa Rosa office, call 707-525-1212 or for Sacramento, call 916-448-1010. You can also reach us toll free at 866-878-5267.
