The Internet is filled with web pages, profiles and rankings singing the praises of individual physicians, but how do you know if any particular doctor is really good, as opposed to a shoddy, substandard physician with a slick publicist or personal friend who posts favorable reviews on their behalf?
One way is to check the court records in the county where the physician practices to determine what kind of lawsuits there have been against the doctor and what the result was from those suits. In San Diego County for example, the court index can be accessed online at:

http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1056871&_dad=portal&_schema=portal.

If you find that a specific physician has been sued on numerous occasions, it may well be worth a personal trip to the courthouse to pull the entire files and learn more about the individual before allowing the physician to operate or even treat you or your loved ones.

Unfortunately, not all physicians who have been sued multiple times for malpractice have public records at the courthouse. Shocked? How can this be? Well, because many physicians have arbitration agreements which require their cases to be resolved outside of the courthouse by private arbitrators. Often, these lawsuits are never filed in court.
You may be able to learn more about these physicians by checking with the California Medical Board online at:http://www.medbd.ca.gov/lookup.html The Medical Board’s website should be able to tell you if the physician has been disciplined or even formally accused of wrongdoing by the Medical Board or some limited information about the physician’s past settlements or judgments in other medical malpractice litigation. More bad news though, because the Medical Board is under-funded and under-staffed, so on occasion there is no listing even for physicians with a “colored past”.
If you can’t universally rely on court filings or the state licensing/discipline board to tell you if a physician is really good what do you do? Word of mouth from other family and friends who have used a particular physician’s services is often a good way to find such a professional.
New to a community or don’t know anyone who is familiar with a specialist in a particular field of medicine? Often the best physicians are at the university based community hospitals, such as the University of California, San Diego (“UCSD”). These physicians typically are at the top of their field of expertise and more interested in academia and research than some of the for-profit physicians. By doing a little research on the university medical center’s website, you will likely be even able to find a specific doctor who is trained in and conducts research in specific diseases or injuries of interest to you.
One caveat however is that some recent studies have shown that medical errors spike in the summer when new medical trainees start working at teaching hospitals — a phenomenon known as the ‘July effect.’ The New York Times (7/12/11, D6, Rabin, Subscription Publication) reports that death rates do increase in July, and that many patients stay in the hospital longer than in other months.” The Wall Street Journal (7/11, Hobson) “Health Blog” reported that for the review, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, investigators looked at data from 39 different studies.The Boston Globe (7/11, Kotz) “Daily Dose” blog reported that “the best-quality studies reviewed found that patients treated in July had a 4 to 12 percent increase in mortality risk compared to those treated in the spring before the staffing change.” Meanwhile, “Some of the studies also indicated an increase in medical errors and complications from procedures, but the data weren’t strong enough to draw firm conclusions.” HealthDay (7/11, Mozes) and Medscape (7/11, Kling).
Remember, even if you do find a good physician, a true second opinion from an independent specialist at a different medical group is always a good idea before embarking on surgery. Sometimes a third opinion is even better!
Stay healthy, eat your veggies and exercise. If you are lucky, only preventative medicine and a yearly check up will be all that is required. If not, a trip to the courthouse before surgery to check on your doctor beats the need for a medical malpractice attorney after an adverse event.

When asked during Voir Dire (jury selection at trial), most jurors respond that they’ve heard of the infamous McDonald’s hot coffee case. The Plaintiff (person who filed the lawsuit) got a windfall, right? The Plaintiff was not even injured but received millions of dollars, right? This is just another example of a frivolous lawsuit, right? The big American corporation that we know and love did absolutely nothing wrong, right? Well, let’s take a closer look at the McDonald’s hot coffee case and then maybe we can answer those questions…

The 1994 case of Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants, 1995 WL 360309, involved a 79 year old grandmother, Stella Liebeck from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ms. Liebeck ordered coffee from a local McDonald’s and after receiving the order, her grandson pulled his car forward and stopped so Ms. Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her coffee. Ms. Liebeck placed the coffee cup between her knees and as she removed the lid, the entire contents of the cup spilled into her lap. She suffered third degree burns (the most significant degree of burns) to over 6 percent of her body, including her inner thighs, groins, and abdomen. She had lesser burns to 16% of her body. She was hospitalized for eight days and underwent skin grafting to repair her grossly damaged skin.

Ms. Liebeck attempted to settle her claim for her medical bills of $20,000, but McDonald’s refused and offered her a measly $800. A lawsuit was filed and during the discovery phase of litigation, McDonald’s produced documents showing that there were more than 700 claims by people burned by coffee over a ten year span. McDonald’s also revealed that its coffee was held between 180 and 190 degrees, while most coffee is sold at a substantially lower temperature. Matter of fact, coffee served at home is generally 135 to 140 degrees. McDonald’s knew their coffee was exceptionally hot and had burned many customers over the past 10 years, but claimed that the millions of cups of coffee sold per day was worth the risk.

The court ordered two settlement conferences, but McDonald’s failed to show, wanting instead to go trial because a jury in New Mexico had never returned a products liability verdict in favor of a Plaintiff. At trial, a jury awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages to Ms. Liebeck. This amount was reduced to $160,000 because the jury found Ms. Liebeck 20 percent at fault. Here’s the kicker though and why this case is so well known, the jury awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages to punish McDonald’s. This amount equaled two days of McDonalds’ coffee sales. The judge reduced the punitive damages award to $480,000 for a total verdict of $640,000. The parties eventually settled the case for a confidential amount, reportedly less than $600,000.

There is a lot of hype about the McDonald’s hot coffee case. The McDonald’s case should be well-known in our society as an example of our justice’s system of checks and balances. It is NOT an example of a runaway jury or windfall to the Plaintiff. And it is definitely NOT a frivolous lawsuit either, given the severity of Ms. Liebeck’s burns and the arrogance/reckless/willful conduct of McDonald’s.

For more information, or if you or a loved one, have been injured as the result of the negligence of another in California, please contact the experienced lawyers at Mulligan Law. Our telephone number is 619-238-8700.

I first heard of Delaney Gonzales in a video, entitled A World Without Lawyers, produced by Consumer Attorneys of California. Her story was compelling, tragic, and worth sharing…

On February 4, 2002, Delaney Lucille Gonzales, 16 months old, went to UCLA Medical Center for a routine surgery to repair a cleft palate. It was supposed to be the first of several surgeries to repair malformations on Delaney’s head and face caused by Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare birth defect.

The initial operation on Delaney was successful, according to medical records, BUT a breathing tube was misplaced and pumped air into Delaney’s stomach rather than her lungs. Because Delaney’s body was deprived of oxygen, her heart stopped. She suffered irreversible brain damage. Delaney Gonzalez passed away less than an hour later.

While no one can put a price on the life of a child, twenty-five years before Delaney was born, in 1975, California lawmakers passed a law known as MICRA that determined Delaney Gonzalez’s life was only worth $250,000. That cap on “non-economic damages” for pain and suffering would override the decision of any jury that may think Delaney’s life is worth more.

When a child dies, the other available damages in a wrongful death lawsuit, known as “economic damages,” are very low because future lost wages are difficult to prove and no medical expenses remain. Medical experts, court costs and legal fees, which can easily run more than $100,000 in a complicated medical malpractice case, are not considered “economic damages” either, so they must be subtracted from the settlement or verdict. Thus, Delaney’s family would only receive $250,000 for “non-economic damages,” minus expenses and legal fees, unless they are able to prove Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (NIED) or Fraud which would allow for a greater recovery beyond the MICRA cap on “non-economic damages.”

Voters and lawmakers should reject proposals which set an arbitrary value on the life of every child who is the victim of medical mistakes.

For more information, or if you or a loved one, have been injured as the result of medical malpractice in California, please contact the experienced lawyers at Mulligan Law. Our telephone number is 619-238-8700.