San Francisco Medical Malpractice

Medical errors kill more people each year than car accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS combined.

If a careless doctor, nurse, or hospital turned your life upside down, you don’t have to just accept it. California law gives you the right to hold them accountable—and to get compensated for the damage they caused.

Our team at The Zinn Law Firm has spent years fighting for people just like you. Call (415) 292-4100 for a free consultation.

Why Choose Us

Hospitals and insurance companies don’t lose sleep over medical malpractice victims. They have legal teams on standby, ready to bury cases under mountains of paperwork and stall until you’re too drained—physically, emotionally, and financially—to keep fighting. That’s where we come in.

At The Zinn Law Firm, we don’t let them get away with it. Our team has spent decades taking on doctors, hospitals, and insurers who refuse to take responsibility for their mistakes. We’ve secured millions in settlements and verdicts, helping our clients avoid footing the bill for someone else’s negligence.

California’s malpractice laws are a maze—filled with damage caps, filing deadlines, and requirements that can derail a case before it even starts. Our team knows how to work within these laws to build strong cases that hold up in court.

Conveniently Located, Ready to Fight

Our office is based in Mill Valley, just across the Golden Gate Bridge, making it easy for San Francisco residents to meet with us in person. We’re just a short drive from downtown San Francisco and Marin General Hospital, two areas where medical malpractice cases regularly arise. Whether your case involves UCSF Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center, or another local healthcare provider, we’re close enough to act fast when you need legal help.

Recognized for Excellence

Not all law firms have what it takes to win medical malpractice cases. We do. Our firm has been recognized by Super Lawyers, the Consumer Attorneys of California, and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association—groups that don’t hand out awards for just showing up. We’ve built our reputation by going after powerful defendants and securing real results for our clients.

How Much Is My Case Worth?

Medical malpractice isn’t like a fender bender where you swap insurance details and move on. It wrecks lives. It destroys careers, drains savings, and turns everyday tasks into battles. California law allows malpractice victims to recover damages, but the amount depends on a mix of hard numbers and subjective factors—things lawyers and insurance companies argue over for months, sometimes years.

Economic Damages

These are the easiest to calculate because they come with receipts. If medical malpractice left you with a stack of bills, lost wages, and ongoing treatment costs, those numbers form the foundation of your claim.

• Medical Expenses – Everything from hospital stays and surgeries to physical therapy and prescription medication. Future costs matter, too—if you need lifelong care, those expenses get factored in.
• Lost Income – If an injury prevents you from working, the law allows you to recover lost wages. If your career takes a permanent hit, your future earning capacity gets calculated based on your job, age, and industry trends.
• Out-of-Pocket Expenses – Wheelchairs, home modifications, in-home care—anything you’ve had to pay for because of malpractice.

Non-Economic Damages

Pain. Fear. The complete loss of the life you had before. None of these come with a price tag, but they’re just as real as the medical bills.

• Pain and Suffering – California law recognizes that physical pain and emotional distress deserve compensation.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life – If malpractice stripped you of the ability to do things you once loved—hiking, playing with your kids, traveling—that loss carries weight in court.
• Loss of Consortium – Spouses can recover damages if malpractice ruins a marriage, whether through physical limitations, emotional withdrawal, or both.

Punitive Damages

Most malpractice cases don’t qualify for punitive damages. These only apply when a doctor or hospital knew they were causing harm and did nothing to stop it. Think of a surgeon operating while drunk or a hospital ignoring repeated warnings about an unsafe procedure. When courts award punitive damages, they aren’t compensating the victim—they’re punishing the defendant. California has no fixed cap on punitive damages, but courts require them to be proportionate to the harm caused (State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408).

How We Calculate Your Damages

Lawsuits aren’t about throwing numbers at the wall and hoping something sticks. We work with:

• Medical Experts – To prove exactly how malpractice caused your injuries.
• Economists – To calculate long-term financial losses.
• Life Care Planners – To determine future medical needs and costs.

Where Do Medical Malpractice Incidents Occur in San Francisco?

Medical malpractice doesn’t discriminate; it infiltrates various healthcare settings across San Francisco. From renowned hospitals to neighborhood clinics, no facility is immune to errors that can devastate patients’ lives.

• Hospitals: Even esteemed institutions like UCSF Medical Center and California Pacific Medical Center have faced malpractice claims. These large hospitals handle complex cases, increasing the likelihood of mistakes during high-stakes procedures.
• Outpatient Clinics: Smaller clinics throughout the city, while providing essential services, may lack the resources of larger hospitals. This limitation can lead to diagnostic errors or inadequate follow-up care.
• Nursing Homes: Elderly residents in San Francisco’s nursing homes are particularly vulnerable. Neglect or substandard care in these facilities can result in severe injuries or death, leading to malpractice suits.
• Surgical Centers: Ambulatory surgical centers, designed for procedures not requiring hospital admission, have seen malpractice cases due to rushed operations or insufficient post-operative care.

According to the National Practitioner Data Bank, California reports approximately 16.9 medical malpractice lawsuits per 100,000 residents.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Some medical errors are minor. Others destroy lives. The law doesn’t hold doctors responsible for every bad outcome—only those caused by negligence. That’s where things get messy. Hospitals and insurance companies argue that mistakes happen, that medicine isn’t perfect. But some errors have nothing to do with bad luck and everything to do with carelessness.

Diagnostic Errors

Misdiagnosis is a disaster in slow motion. A doctor shrugs off warning signs, labels something “stress” or a “minor infection,” and sends a patient home. The real condition—cancer, stroke, heart attack—goes untreated. By the time anyone figures it out, the damage is irreversible.

• Missed Diagnoses – The doctor never recognizes the problem.
• Delayed Diagnoses – The right diagnosis comes, but too late.
• Wrong Diagnoses – A patient gets treated for the wrong illness while the real one gets worse.

California law requires doctors to meet the “standard of care” expected from other professionals in their field (Cal. Civ. Code § 1714). When they fail, and a patient suffers, that’s malpractice.

Surgical Errors

Surgeries don’t come with a redo button. One mistake in the operating room can leave a person paralyzed, disfigured, or dead. Some of the most horrifying cases involve:

• Wrong-Site Surgery – Operating on the wrong body part, or worse, the wrong patient.
• Nerve or Organ Damage – A careless cut leads to permanent disability.
• Anesthesia Mistakes – Too much, too little, or the wrong kind at the wrong time.
• Foreign Objects Left Behind – Sponges, scalpels, or clamps stitched inside a patient.

Even the best hospitals screw this up. Research estimates that wrong-site surgeries happen 40 times a week in the U.S.

Medication Errors

One typo on a prescription pad sends a patient to the ER. One rushed nurse gives a child 10 times the correct dose. Some of the most common errors include:

• Wrong Medication – Prescribing or administering the wrong drug.
• Wrong Dosage – Giving too much or too little.
• Dangerous Drug Interactions – Ignoring known allergies or conflicting medications.

A California hospital once gave an infant a 1,000x overdose of a blood thinner. The child survived, but the mistake made headlines for exposing a systemic problem—rushed doctors, overworked nurses, and hospitals cutting corners.

Birth Injuries

Childbirth should be safe. But when a doctor ignores warning signs, takes too long to act, or uses excessive force, the consequences last a lifetime. Babies suffer brain damage, nerve injuries, and fractures that never fully heal.

• Cerebral Palsy – Lack of oxygen during delivery permanently affects motor function.
• Brachial Plexus Injuries – Nerve damage from excessive pulling or improper use of forceps.
• Fractured Bones – Broken clavicles or skull fractures caused by rough handling.

California law gives parents three years to file a malpractice claim for a birth injury (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 340.5), but for children under six, they have until the child’s eighth birthday.

Hospital and Nursing Home Negligence

Not all malpractice happens in a doctor’s office. Some cases stem from unsafe hospital policies, understaffed facilities, or overworked employees making mistakes. Nursing homes, in particular, see:

• Bedsores – A clear sign of neglect when staff fails to reposition immobile patients.
• Falls – Patients left unattended suffer preventable injuries.
• Medication Mismanagement – Patients given the wrong drugs or not given necessary ones.

California holds hospitals and nursing homes responsible when systemic failures lead to harm (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1430). That means they can’t blame a single employee and walk away. If their policies put patients at risk, they pay.

Fighting the Insurance Company

Hospitals don’t fight their own battles. The second a malpractice claim hits, their insurance provider takes over, and that’s where the real war begins. These companies have one job: pay as little as possible, or nothing at all. They don’t care if you can’t work, if you’re drowning in medical debt, or if a botched surgery destroyed your quality of life. They care about keeping their shareholders happy.

How They Try to Dodge Responsibility

Insurance adjusters handle malpractice claims the same way casinos handle gamblers—they stack the odds against you from the start. Every delay, every legal loophole, every denial serves one purpose: wear you down until you accept a lowball offer or give up entirely.

• Blaming the Patient – They argue that your injury was caused by an underlying condition, not medical negligence.
• Downplaying the Injury – “It’s not that bad. You’ll recover.” Meanwhile, you’re facing years of treatment and chronic pain.
• Challenging the Standard of Care – They claim the doctor acted reasonably given the circumstances, even when the evidence says otherwise.
• Dragging Out the Process – They stall, ignore your calls, and force endless paperwork so you miss deadlines or get too exhausted to continue.
• Pressuring You to Settle Fast – The first settlement offer? Garbage. They throw out a low number, hoping you’ll take it before realizing what your case is worth.

How We Shut Them Down

Insurance companies play dirty, but we know their playbook. We don’t ask them nicely to do the right thing—we build a case so strong they have no choice.

• Medical Experts on Standby – We bring in specialists to prove exactly how negligence caused your injury.
• Economic Analysts Calculating Every Dollar – Lost wages, medical bills, long-term care costs—we make sure they pay for all of it.
• Aggressive Litigation – If they refuse to offer a fair settlement, we take them to court. And they know we win.

California’s MICRA law (Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act) caps non-economic damages at $350,000 (Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2), but there’s no limit on economic damages. That means they’re on the hook for every medical bill, every lost paycheck, and every future expense caused by malpractice.

Insurance companies don’t like paying fair settlements. That’s fine. We like making them.

Make Them Pay for Their Mistakes

Doctors bury their mistakes—literally. Hospitals cover them up. Insurance companies pretend they never happened. Meanwhile, you’re left picking up the pieces of a life you didn’t break. That’s not justice.

We don’t let them get away with it. The Zinn Law Firm fights for people who deserve real compensation, not excuses. Call (415) 292-4100 for a free consultation.