Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury case and its proceedings.)
It is also worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, U.C. Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Sutter, or any skilled nursing facility.
In the present case, the standard of care for the specialty fields of plastic surgeons and nursing, as well as whether Dr. Goldberg and the nursing staff complied with same, are matters exclusively for the province of expert testimony (unless the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies).
A physician’s standard of care is the key issue in a malpractice action and can only be proved by expert testimony unless the circumstances are such that the required conduct is within the layperson’s common knowledge. (Landeros v. Flood (1976) 17 Cal.3d 399, 410, 131 Cal.Rptr. 69, 551 P.2d 389; Flowers v. Torrance Memorial Hospital Medical Center (1994) 8 CaUth 992, 1001, 35 Cal.Rptr.2d 685, 884 P.2d 142.) For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
The common knowledge exception is principally limited to situations in which the plaintiff can invoke the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, i.e., when a layperson is able to say as a matter of common knowledge and observation that the consequences of professional treatment were not such as ordinarily would have followed if due care had been exercised. (Flowers v. Torrance Memorial Hospital Medical Center, supra, 8 CaUth at p. 1001, 35 Cal.Rptr.2d 685, 884 P.2d 142, fn. omitted.) Curtis v. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 796, 800-801.
Thus, Dr. Lee’s testimony in the areas of the standard of care for the specialty fields of plastic surgeons and nursing, as well as whether Dr. Goldberg and the nursing staff complied with same, cannot be received as lay opinions. Thus, the question becomes is Dr. Lee a qualified plastic surgeon or nurse who can opine regarding the standard of care for the specialty fields of plastic surgeons and nursing, as well as whether Dr. Goldberg and the nursing staff complied with same. (See Part 8 of 9.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.