How to sue a Kaiser Permanente doctor

If you’re considering filing a lawsuit against a specific doctor, the first thing to understand is that, just because the doctor made a mistake about your care, it doesn’t always mean that it’s grounds for a claim of medical malpractice.

Therefore, it is important that you know how to sue a doctor, especially if the doctor is within the Kaiser Permanente system. As a member of Kaiser’s managed care consortium, or HMO, patients may bring a claim of medical malpractice against one of its doctors, but the claim must be handled through Kaiser’s arbitration process instead of filing the claim in a court of law. This is one of the protections that Kaiser provides for its employees in addition to providing their malpractice insurance. 

While Kaiser has to follow the medical malpractice laws of the state of California, by making the arbitration process a requirement of the contract that is usually negotiated by an employer, they are able to circumvent a jury trial.  Arbitrations do not have a jury, the arbitrator takes the place of a judge, and in most cases, the process usually takes place in a meeting room. 

However, like in a trial, both parties must exchange information about the case before the arbitration process can begin. This is similar to the “discovery” phase of a trial. In order to have a successful medical malpractice claim, you have to provide evidence to support your claim — the 4 D’s of medical malpractice.

What type of malpractice have you suffered?

The 4 D’s of medical negligence cases are the four requirements that you must establish before you can file a lawsuit against a doctor. They are:

Duty — Did your doctor fail to live up to his or her duty of care?

Deviation –– Was there a breach or deviation in the standard duty of care that may be expected of any other doctor in the same or a similar specialty, in the same geographic area?

Direct cause — Did the breach or deviation from the standard duty of care cause your injury?

Damages — Did the breach or deviation from the standard duty of care cause physical, mental, emotional, and/or financial damages?

Some common medical malpractice injuries include:

  • Medication errors
  • Surgical error
  • Infection 
  • Misdiagnosing or failing to diagnosis
  • Delay in diagnosis

Medical malpractice cases are regulated by complex laws. It’s critical to the success of your claim that you get advice or representation from an experienced attorney who files lawsuits against Kaiser Permanente doctors.

We’re focused on your rights

The first thing to do is schedule a free consultation with a medical malpractice attorney that has experience with the Kaiser arbitration process. Scott S. Harris, San Diego medical malpractice attorney, has had great success when it comes to handling Kaiser Permanente malpractice lawsuits. 

Scott S. Harris has more than 30 years of experience, negotiating equitable settlements in cases involving the Kaiser Permanente system as well as court cases involving severe and permanent injuries or wrongful death that end up being tried in front of a jury.

Contact our office to schedule your free case consultation.