In upholding a $9 million award for noneconomic damages, the Court of Appeal has found that a jury was justified in finding that a surgeon went beyond the patient’s consent in a case alleging medical battery. The 41-year-old patient sought medical care after discovering a small lump in his scrotum.

This column has frequently shown the risks of the primary care physician doing too much, but sometimes, he or she may have the tools readily available to handle an urgent situation

Though drug manufacturers’ recommended dosages and “black box” warnings do not establish the standard of care, they can certainly create a glidepath for a plaintiff’s case against a physician.

Virtually all medical malpractice cases turn on expert testimony. If the conflicting testimony by the expert witnesses called by the plaintiff and the defendant meets proper thresholds, a jury will be called on to decide which expert to believe. But even a well-qualified physician cannot utter just any words to get a case to the jury.

Determining when a plaintiff must act to sue a healthcare provider is a topic of longstanding interest in California’s courts. A featured case adds a twist: Does a patient suing a subsequent treating physician get additional time to sue?