Proving Past Medical Expenses

To recover past medical expenses, the injured must prove that the medical services were attributable to the accident; that they were necessary, and that the charges were reasonable. See Calhoun v. Hildebrandt, (1964) 230 Cal. App. 2d 70, 73.   This rule has been well settled in California, in that the cost alone of medical treatment does not govern the recovery of such expenses and that it must also be shown that the services were attributable tot he accident, that they were necessary and reasonable. See Gimbel v. Laramie, (1960) 181 Cal. App. 2d 77, 81.

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Medical Device Injuries & The Two-Year Statute

There is a two-year statute of limitations to file suit for “assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual cuased by the wrongful act or neglect of another.” See C.C.P. § 335.1.  However, when the cause of the injury is not readily ascertainable, as is the case for many medical product liability cases, the two-year statute of limitations period begins to run when the injured suspects or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should suspect that the injury was caused by a wrong committed by an actor.  The California Supreme Court in Jolly v. Eli Lilly & Co., (1988) 44 Cal. 3d 1103 held: “Under the discovery rule, the statute of limitations begins to run when the plaintiff suspects or should suspect that her injury was caused by wrongdoing, that someone has done something wrong to her.  As we said in Sanchez and reiterated in Gutierrez, the limitations period begins once the plaintiff “ ‘ “has notice **928 or *1111 information of circumstances to put a reasonable person on inquiry….”). (internal citations omitted) A plaintiff need not be aware of the specific “facts” necessary to establish the claim; that is a process contemplated by pretrial discovery. Once the plaintiff has a suspicion of wrongdoing, and therefore an incentive to sue, she must decide whether to file suit or sit on her rights. So long as a suspicion exists, it is clear that the plaintiff must go find the facts; she cannot wait for the facts to find her.”

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Products Liability and Dangerous Drugs – The Standard for Manufacturer Liability

The California Supreme Court in Brown v. Superior Court, (1988) 44 Cal. 3d 1049, wrestled with the question of whether strict liability theories would be applied to Drug Manufacturers whose product, after released in the market, results in injury to its intended users.  The Brown Court concluded that “a manufacturer is not strictly liable for injuries caused by a prescription drug so long as the drug was properly prepared and accompanied by warnings of its dangerous propensities that were either known or reasonably scientifically knowable at the time of distribution.” Id. at 1069.  The Brown Court did clarify its conclusion so as not to mean “that drug manufacturers are free of all liability for defective drugs. They are subject to liability for manufacturing defects, as well as under general principles of negligence, and for failure to warn of known or reasonably knowable side effects.” Id. at fn. 12.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury as a result of taking a prescription drug, contact one of our Los Angeles Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation and case evaluation.