If I Win My California Medical Malpractice Case, How Will I Be Paid?

If you win your medical malpractice lawsuit against your doctor or other health care provider, you will expect to receive compensation for your various types of losses. You can either be paid up front in one lump sum, or you can be paid in a series of payments. In California, Code of Civil Procedure section 667.7(a) allows either party to request that the money for future damages be made by periodic payments if the award is of at least $50,000.

The payment of those periodic installments would become a court order. That means that if you were not paid for a one of those installments, you could go back to court and ask the court to hold the other party in contempt.

For compensation for loss of future earnings, the court can even order that your heirs receive the payments after you pass on.

Because your case could potentially affect your children or grandchildren, and, of course, that it can have a huge impact on the rest of your life, you need to make sure your case rests in the hands of a medical malpractice lawyer you trust--someone who is knowledgeable and will make sure you get everything you are entitled to. To find a quality medical malpractice attorney in your area, click on your state on the left side of your screen.