Kaiser Malpractice Lawyers
At Cutter Law P.C., we have a team of experienced, well-educated, and professional Kaiser malpractice lawyers ready to represent you and your interests in a court of law. Kaiser Permanente is one of the largest insurance providers in the United States. So, when it comes to fighting against such an insurance giant, make sure you have one of our California medical malpractice lawyers on your side. Contact us for a no-obligation consultation today!
What Is Medical Malpractice?
According to the American Board Of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA):
“Medical malpractice occurs when a hospital doctor or other heal care professional, through a negligent act or omission, causes an injury to a patient. The negligence might be the result of errors in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare, or health management.” – ABPLA
Additionally, for an act to constitute medical malpractice, it must meet the following criteria:
- The act violates the accepted standards of care
- Medical negligence injured a patient
- The act caused an injury that results in significant damages
Should You File a Kaiser Malpractice Lawsuit?
Even if you’re unsure of whether you should file a Kaiser malpractice lawsuit, contact our attorneys for a no-obligation consultation. You may be entitled to compensation without even knowing it! That said, the most successful malpractice claims involve the following:
- Your healthcare provider owed you a duty of care
- The provider violated their assumed duty of care
- You suffered harm that deserves compensation
- The provider’s breach of their duty of care caused you harm
Why Hire Our Kaiser Malpractice Attorneys?
The biggest reason to hire our team of Kaiser malpractice attorneys is that we’re extremely experienced in arbitration. Having an attorney familiar with the legal process of arbitration is vital in Kaiser malpractice claims because every Kaiser patient signs a binding arbitration agreement before receiving care of any kind.
Besides our experience in arbitration, the attorneys at Cutter Law P.C. received several awards for top-tier legal representation. Super Lawyers recognized us as a top firm in 2019, we’ve received an Avvo Rating of 10.0 (Superb), we’re members of the American Association for Justice Leaders Forum, and we’ve even received an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
What Is Arbitration?
In short, arbitration is a widely-used and accepted alternative to the traditional court-based lawsuit system.
In arbitration cases, there are no judges or juries. Instead, plaintiffs negotiate with the defendants through a third party known as an arbitrator. During the arbitration, both cases present their sides to an arbitrator. Then the arbitrator decides what kind of compensation the plaintiff deserves. Other than those key differences, arbitration works similarly to traditional trials. There’s a discovery period as well as other pretrial processes, such as settlement conferences. But, the rules for evidence are far more relaxed, and the trial itself often occurs in an office instead of a courtroom.
Examples Of Kaiser Malpractice Claims Highlighted by Nurse Allegations
Nurses from Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center’s maternity ward have lodged a complaint with the state Department of Public Health. The core of their grievance revolves around the consistent understaffing of their ward, leading to unsafe conditions for both mothers and infants. Key instances cited in their complaint include:
- Inadequate staffing ratios, often falling below state guidelines.
- Assigning multiple laboring mothers to a single nurse, surpassing recommended limits.
- Circumstances where only one nurse was present during childbirth.
- Babies being delivered in unsuitable locations, such as triage rooms.
This ward comprises of antepartum, labor and delivery, neo-natal intensive care, and postpartum units, with issues reported across all sectors. The nurses further claim that understaffing pressures have led to patient conditions being downgraded improperly to manage workload.
Historically, this isn’t the first time Kaiser has faced such allegations. In 2014, staffing concerns arose at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, where expectant mothers faced prolonged waits. Similarly, in 2016, a significant nurses’ strike at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles highlighted concerns about persistent understaffing. The nurses documented hundreds of instances of unsafe staffing within a short span of months.
How Does Understaffing Affect Delivery?
Expectant mothers and their unborn or newly-born infants must be monitored closely to ensure the labor and delivery progress properly, and to ensure there are no complications immediately following birth. Incidents that happen during birth can arise quickly and put the health and safety of the mother and her baby at risk, causing catastrophic and permanent damage if not addressed immediately.
When Kaiser maternity wards and delivery rooms are understaffed, expectant mothers and their infants are not monitored adequately. Further, because the nurses are expected to cover more patients than they should they are often rushed and the potential for a disastrous error increases. Nurses attending to one emergency could be called to another, leaving mothers in labor without a nurse to watch them.
Even when mothers come into the maternity ward for monitoring—due to issues with the pregnancy such as decreased movement—they may not be put on the proper monitoring equipment right away thanks to staffing shortages. Wait times to go on monitoring equipment can reportedly be more than 30 minutes, which can lead to life-threatening issues for the baby.
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How Big Is Kaiser Permanente?
Kaiser Permanente is one of the biggest non-profit healthcare insurance providers in the United States. They have over 10.5 million members, over 16,000 physicians, and over 48,000 nurses on staff at over 38 hospitals throughout the country. Kaiser also has more than 174,000 employees working at their various offices in a variety of positions.
Unfortunately, with such a large organization that employs and represents such a massive number of people, incidents of medical malpractice are inevitable. Thankfully, thanks to our Kaiser Permanente malpractice lawyers in California, you always have someone to turn to in the event of a medical malpractice incident.
Contact Our Kaiser Malpractice Lawyers Today
Attorneys at Cutter Law have years of experience fighting on behalf of patients who have been victims of devastating medical injuries. We know how catastrophic an injury to an expectant mother or her infant can be, and we are dedicated to getting justice for both. When maternity wards are understaffed, lives are put at risk unnecessarily, either through improper patient monitoring or because overworked staff are more likely to make an error.
If you or someone you love suffered injuries as a result of medical malpractice, delivery room understaffing, or other issues at a Kaiser Permanente medical center, you need an experienced lawyer to ensure you obtain the best possible results from your lawsuit. Contact a personal injury attorney at Cutter Law today to discuss your claim. Our attorneys are available for a no-obligation consultation. We’ll go the extra mile to get justice for you and your infant.
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Our Office Locations
Sacramento Office
401 Watt Avenue Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95864
Phone: 916-290-9400
Oakland Office
Cutter Law P.C.
1999 Harrison Street Suite 1400
Oakland, CA 94612
