DR. BRUCE G. FAGEL
Dr. Fagel is an attorney and physician who exclusively represents
injured patients in medical malpractice cases against doctors and
hospitals. His practice focuses on complex medical malpractice cases
resulting in catastrophic injuries to patients caused by doctor or
hospital negligence, such as birth injuries, brain damage, wrongful
death, cerebral palsy, Erb's Palsy, nursing home negligence,
misdiagnosis of cancer and paraplegia, among others. Dr. Fagel pursues
cases on behalf of victims in California and Nevada and also helps
clients throughout the United States through representation with local
counsel.
Dr. Fagel practiced emergency medicine for 10 years before obtaining
his law degree and founding the firm in 1984. His medical practice
background makes him the perfect medical malpractice lawyer, as his
extensive medical knowledge and hands-on experience provides him with
an unparalleled advantage in the courtroom and in settlement
proceedings. Furthermore, his legal experience, determination and
aggressive cross-examination methods allow him to secure high levels of
financial compensation for his clients in nearly all of the cases he
pursues.
Dr. Fagel heads a team of highly experienced attorneys that litigate
each of the firm's cases. Dr. Fagel has four associate attorneys
working with him who assist in the evaluation, investigation and
discovery process of cases under his direction. In addition, a
supportive and knowledgeable staff of more than 15 aids his efforts and
is available to respond to clients' needs during and after cases are
completed.
Legal Responsibilities and Accomplishments
Since founding the firm, Dr. Fagel has tried and settled more
medical malpractice cases than any other attorney in California. Dr.
Fagel has obtained over $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for his
clients, including the largest medical malpractice verdict in the
history of California- a $460 million medical malpractice jury verdict.
In addition, Dr. Fagel has obtained multi-million dollar jury verdicts
in more than a dozen countries in California and has now extended his
practice to include Nevada.
Dr. Fagel has also litigated against most major medical malpractice
defense firms in California. His numerous experiences dealing with
these defense firms allows him to accurately predict the tactics
defense lawyers are likely to employ, while his extensive medical and
legal knowledge allows him to effectively counter their claims and
secure maximum compensation for his clients. Furthermore, Dr. Fagel has
a long history of successfully challenging California's largest medical
services and insurance providers. For example. Dr. Fagel is a
well-known by the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, the largest health care
provider in both Northern and Southern California, as a determined and
relentless adversary, as he has successfully prosecuted numerous
medical malpractice cases against Kaiser's facilities and employees.
Even though Kaiser requires its members to participate in binding
arbitration of all malpractice claims, Dr. Fagel has obtained
significant arbitration awards and settlements for clients in cases
against Kaiser.
Background
Dr. Fagel graduated from the University of Illinois in 1967 with a
Bachelor's Degree in both Chemistry and Political Science. After
receiving his M.D. Degree from the University of Illinois College of
Medicine in 1972, Dr. Fagel practiced emergency medicine for 10 years
before earning his J.D. Degree from the Whittier College School of Law
in 1982.
Dr. Fagel is also a proponent on patients' rights outside the
courtroom. He was directly involved in state legislation regarding
medical malpractice cases by assisting the passage of the California
Code of Civil Procedure Section 35(g), which provides for a priority
trial date for children under the age of 14 who are injured due to
medical malpractice. With Dr. Fagel's support, this statute was enacted
despite the strong opposition from medical and hospital lobbyists in
Sacramento. Dr. Fagel brought and argued this law's first case on
appeal (Peters v. Superior Court), which subsequently required that all
California Courts recognize this statute as mandatory. This law now
allows Dr. Fagel to obtain earlier settlements or trial verdicts in
cases involving children.
Dr. Fagel has authored various articles on medical malpractice issues that have been published in the L.A. Daily Journal, The Forum (Consumer Attorneys of California), The Advocate
(Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles) and many other publications. Dr.
Fagel also regularly speaks before the media and organizations of
attorneys, physicians and hospitals on behalf of patients.
Click here to view a video regarding Dr. Fagel's impressive background and unique qualifications.
Honors and Awards
Dr. Fagel has been nominated eight times by the Consumer Attorneys
Association of Los Angeles for their prestigious Trial Lawyer of the
Year Award. In addition, Dr. Fagel is listed as a Los Angeles Super Lawyer and is featured in the reference book, Best Lawyers in America. Dr. Fagel has also been featured on the cover of various journals and magazines, such as Medical Economics and the National Law Journal.
Professional Associations
-American College of Legal Medicine
-Los Angeles County Medical Association
-California Medical Association
-Consumer Attorneys Association of California
-Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
-American Trial Lawyers Association (American Association for Justice)
-Birth Trauma Litigation Group