Wayne Volkmuth learned what a “250 case” was while conducting research shortly after the loss of his 7-year-old son, Ryan, who died three years ago during a dental procedure at a Palo Alto clinic. As a story in the San Francisco Chronicle describes, the “250″ refers to $250,000, the largest amount Volkmuth could recover in a medical malpractice claim over his disabled son’s death, a limit set 34 years ago by California’s landmark medical malpractice law. It’s also the reason his case was turned down by most of the dozen medical malpractice attorneys he and his wife consulted.

With the malpractice cap set at $250,000, few attorneys will consider championing such cases, as the economics of the court system render such quests, however noble, as basically senseless and unavailing.

Read the full article on the SF Gate website.