Medical Malpractice
Trusted care.
Lasting consequences.
A commitment
to the truth.
When medical care is called into question, the answer should begin with the medical record, not assumptions.
The LOCD represents patients and families harmed by medical negligence. Cassandra Dawn brings personal attention, careful preparation, and trial experience to each matter, so you can focus on healing while we pursue answers.
Understanding the claim
More than a
difficult outcome.
Medicine involves risk, and not every complication is negligence. A serious injury still deserves a clear explanation of what the standard of care required and what actually happened.
Medical malpractice is a health care provider’s negligent act or omission in rendering professional services that causes injury or death.
In Utah, a patient must establish the standard of care required of health care providers under the circumstances, a breach of that standard, an injury proximately caused by the breach, and damages.
Departure from the standard of care
The central question is not whether a better result was possible, but whether the provider departed from the skill and care that qualified practitioners would have exercised in the same situation.
Our analysis looks closely at the presenting symptoms, the information available at each decision point, the orders, charting, and communications, and the choices made by every member of the care team. We distinguish a known risk of treatment from a departure from professional standards, then examine whether the evidence connects that departure to the harm.
The questions that guide our analysis
01
Standard
What did the standard of care require under the circumstances?
02
Departure
Did the care provided fall below that standard?
03
Causation
Did the departure cause the injury, rather than the underlying condition?
04
Damages
What losses can the evidence establish, now and in the future?
Informed-consent, institutional, and other related theories can involve additional requirements and require their own analysis.
How concerns can arise
The details of
the care
matter.
These are illustrative situations, not automatic findings of liability. We review the complete record before drawing a conclusion.
01Missed or Delayed Diagnosis
Consider a patient whose symptoms, test results, or imaging pointed toward a serious condition that was not recognized or acted on in time. We examine what was known, what further evaluation was reasonably called for, and whether earlier diagnosis would have changed the outcome.
02Surgical & Procedural Errors
Consider an injury to a nearby structure, a wrong-site procedure, or an instrument or sponge left behind after surgery. We distinguish recognized surgical risks from preventable error, and we examine pre-operative planning, technique, and post-operative care.
In Utah, a claim that a foreign object was wrongfully left in a patient’s body is subject to its own one-year discovery period.
03Medication Errors
Consider a wrong drug, a wrong dose, a dangerous interaction, or an order that was not carried out as written. Our review would follow the medication from prescription to pharmacy to administration, and expert testimony is ordinarily needed to connect the error to the harm.
04Failures in Monitoring & Follow-Up
Consider a hospital, emergency department, or nursing facility patient whose changing condition was not recognized, communicated, or escalated. We examine staffing, protocols, nursing documentation, and the handoffs between providers that shaped the patient’s care.
05Birth & Obstetric Injuries
Consider an injury to a mother or newborn during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, including concerns about fetal monitoring or the timing of intervention. These matters require especially careful medical analysis and, for children, attention to the special deadline rules that may apply.
We carry the burden
Grief takes time.
Evidence does not wait.
After a serious injury or the loss of someone you love, grief, exhaustion, and frustration with the people who were supposed to help can make it hard to take the next step. Those feelings are natural, and they often lead families to wait. We are here to take that burden off you.
You focus on your family
We handle the
difficult work.
We request the records, communicate with providers and insurers, consult the right medical experts, and keep you informed at each stage. You should not have to fight the system while you are recovering or mourning.
Cassandra gives each matter personal attention, with sensitivity to what the injury means to the patient and family and the preparation needed to pursue a meaningful resolution.
Time is of the essence
Delay can cost
important evidence.
The proof in a medical case is time-sensitive. Electronic chart entries and audit trails, monitoring strips, imaging, pharmacy and device data, staffing schedules, and facility policies can be overwritten, archived, or harder to obtain as time passes. Witnesses change jobs, and memories fade.
Acting promptly lets us send preservation requests, secure the complete record, and build the case while the evidence is still available, well before the filing deadline approaches.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every matter depends on its facts, evidence, applicable law, and circumstances.
Expertise that tests the evidence
Qualified physicians.
Independent analysis.
A clearer picture.
In a medical case, the right expert does more than offer an opinion. The right expert helps us understand what really happened.
Our relationships with respected medical, economic, and life-care planning experts are central to how we prepare these matters.
Cassandra works with highly qualified professionals whose training fits the specialty and the questions in dispute. We look for relevant clinical experience, sound reasoning, and the ability to explain complex medicine to a judge or jury with precision and clarity.
Expert testimony is generally required to establish the standard of care and its breach, except where the conduct at issue is within the common knowledge of a layperson. Causation ordinarily requires expert medical testimony as well.
Our expert work is directed toward a candid assessment of the care at issue and its consequences. The goal is not an opinion that confirms an assumption; it is an analysis that can withstand scrutiny.
What did the standard of care require?
What does the complete medical record show?
Did the departure, or the underlying condition, cause the harm?
The statute of limitations
Two years in Utah.
Required steps
before filing.
Medical malpractice deadlines are shorter than many people expect, and both states require notice before a lawsuit can be filed. The timeline should be assessed promptly.
A Utah malpractice action against a health care provider generally must be commenced within two years after the patient discovers, or through reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, and no later than four years after the act or omission.
Shorter one-year discovery periods apply to claims involving a foreign object left in the body and to claims involving fraudulent concealment.
Utah’s prelitigation requirements
Before filing, a Utah claimant must serve at least 90 days’ notice of intent to commence an action and, except in dental cases, obtain a certificate of compliance from the Division of Professional Licensing. A request for prelitigation panel review must be filed within 60 days after the notice is served; the panel review is nonbinding but compulsory, and the request tolls the limitations period for a defined time.
California is different
Three years, or one year from discovery.
California generally requires a medical negligence action to be filed within three years after the date of injury or one year after the patient discovers, or should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first. Special rules apply to minors, fraud, intentional concealment, and foreign objects.
A provider must also receive at least 90 days’ notice of intent before suit is filed.
The governing law, the type of claim, the patient’s age, and the chronology can change the deadline. Important evidence can be lost long before a deadline arrives. Do not use this page to calculate your filing date; contacting the firm does not extend any deadline.
A considered first step
Questions worth asking.
We begin with the record, not a conclusion. A focused first conversation helps identify what deserves closer review.
Is a bad outcome the same as malpractice?
No. A claim requires proof that the care fell below the applicable standard and that the departure caused the injury, not merely that a complication occurred or treatment did not succeed.
Are damages limited?
Both states limit noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, in medical malpractice cases; economic losses such as medical expenses and lost earnings are treated differently. In Utah, the limit is $450,000 for claims arising on or after May 15, 2010.
California’s limits differ for injury and wrongful-death cases and increase each January 1 under a schedule that began in 2023.
I am still grieving. Is it too soon to call?
No. A first conversation does not commit you to anything, and it can protect your options. We can begin preserving evidence and tracking deadlines while you take the time you need, and we will move at a pace that respects your family.
What should I share first?
Start with the names of the providers and facilities involved, the approximate dates of treatment, and a brief description of what happened. Please do not send medical records or other confidential documents until we have completed a conflict review and given you instructions.
Request a case review
Start with the facts.
We will consider
the way forward.
If you believe medical negligence harmed you or someone you love, tell us briefly what happened. We will take it from there.
We are deliberately selective so each engagement can receive the attention, preparation, and personal commitment it deserves.
Begin with a brief introduction.
Please send only a general overview, not medical records or attachments. An inquiry does not create an attorney-client relationship, confirm acceptance, or extend a deadline.