How a California malpractice lawsuit proceeds

A California malpractice lawsuit has recurring stages, but no two cases follow one calendar. A 90-day notice, a summons, or an expert deadline can arrive while the physician still has patients, records, and a practice to protect. This guide shows the legal sequence and the points where counsel and the issued policy matter most.

What the plaintiff must prove

The plaintiff must prove duty, breach, causation, and damages. The California Courts medical-malpractice guide explains the standard-of-care and causation requirements.

Duty comes from the treatment relationship. Breach means that the care fell below the applicable standard. Causation connects that breach to the injury. Damages are the losses that the plaintiff can seek.

All four elements are necessary. California Courts states that expert evidence is generally needed to establish the standard of care, a breach, and causation.

The clock: CCP 340.5

Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 sets the statute of limitations. A statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a claim.

The section generally uses the earlier of two dates. One is three years after the injury. The other is one year after the plaintiff discovered, or should have discovered, the injury.

The statute lists exceptions for fraud, intentional concealment, and a retained foreign body without a therapeutic or diagnostic purpose.

Minors have a separate rule. The usual period is three years from the wrongful act. A child under six receives the longer of three years or until the eighth birthday.

The 90-day letter: CCP 364

Code of Civil Procedure section 364 generally requires at least 90 days' notice before the plaintiff files the lawsuit. If notice arrives during the final 90 days, the filing deadline extends 90 days from service. The notice must state the legal basis of the claim and the type of injuries suffered.

The notice letter is often the first document that a physician receives. Preserve it and follow the issued policy's notice clause. Do not assume an oral report, broker conversation, or application update satisfies that clause.

The stages, in order

The 90-day notice period and the summons instruction come from statutes. A California summons generally states that a defendant must respond within 30 days after service. The actual papers, service facts, court orders, and counsel determine the response path. The discovery, deposition, settlement, and trial ranges are planning estimates. Each court and case can move at a different rate.

How long it really takes

In the largest national dataset, the average malpractice claim took 19.0 months from filing to resolution. A claim without litigation took 11.6 months. A litigated claim took 25.1 months.

Claims that reached a verdict took much longer. A defense verdict took an average of 39.0 months. A plaintiff verdict took 43.5 months.

Another study measured time from the medical event. It found an average duration of about 43 months. Among paid claims, 81% took at least one year. Twenty-seven percent took at least three years.

How cases end

The national insurer study found that 55.2% of claims entered litigation. Courts dismissed 54.1% of litigated claims. About one-third settled before a verdict.

Only 4.5% of litigated claims reached a verdict. Physicians won 79.6% of those verdicts. A claim can still consume years and defense resources without a payment.

Where damages land: MICRA

Civil Code section 3333.2 limits one category of damages in its defined professional-negligence actions. Economic damages can include medical costs and lost earnings. This statute does not impose a dollar limit on that category.

Noneconomic damages include pain, suffering, and similar harm. For an action filed, or arbitration demanded, on or after January 1, 2023, section 3333.2 applies statutory collective limits. The amount in effect when the case reaches judgment, arbitration award, or settlement applies. The 2026 limits are $470,000 for injury and $650,000 for wrongful death for each applicable collective category, not a separate cap for every defendant.

The limits increase each year through 2033. Read the MICRA lesson for the full schedule.

The case begins with notice, a complaint, and a response. Discovery and expert review take most of the time. Settlement, dismissal, arbitration, or trial can end the case. The outcome does not answer whether a policy responds; that depends on the issued terms, endorsements, notice, and facts.

Read what happens at a malpractice deposition before testimony preparation begins.