Bertling & Clausen Llp

Lucia V. _{on Yelp}

Feb 16th, 2021

I met Mr. Peter Bertling, attorney at law in Santa Barbara, California, a long time ago when he was defending a plastic surgeon whom I believed had caused me a terrible harm and I had filed a complaint of medical malpractice against him. My attorney believed the doctor had performed such a blatant blunder that the jury would award at least $500,000.Mr. Peter Bertling was undaunted by the difficulties of the case, studied the case in depth, noticed what could have been contended upon and what could have been debated, transformed the pros of my case into cons converting them into strengths for his client and at trial gave such a brilliant defense, the jury dismissed my attorney's arguments and gave a verdict in favor of Mr. Peter Bertling's client. Not only I lost the case, but I was ordered to pay $10,000 for the incurred expenses.I never forgot Mr. Peter Bertling's competence, cleverness, and professionalism. With time, since we were both involved in the Santa Barbara Opera, we became friends.In 2018 I went through a most terrible experience. I was wearing an IV Port trough which nutrients were delivered in my blood stream through a large vein near my heart. The nutrients were needed to support my liver which was impaired by scar tissues that were destroying its internal structure and impair its ability to regenerate itself and to function. Such severe scarring is called cirrhosis.The cirrhosis was caused by a virus, called Hep C, I acquired from blood transfusions at a time when the blood was not checked yet for this virus.For four years the port functioned well, but when the treating doctor lost the services of his nurses and took over the delivery of the nutrients through the port, he became appallingly negligent in the handling the process and caused the port to be infected. The infection traveled from the infected port to my knee in which I had received a few years earlier an implant through a knee arthroplasty (a surgical procedure to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve pain and disability).The infection to my knee required the surgical removal of the knee implant, the wearing of a heavy metal brace extending from the ankle to the groin for four months, a seven months stay in a nursing facility to receive IV antibiotics three times a day and a subsequent surgery to insert a new implant after the bone growth and the healing were complete. All bore months filled with anguish, sleepless nights, excruciating pain in both my legs, back, shoulders, without any respite, night and day. I lived in the confines of 4 walls, without a breath of fresh air, alone and hopeless.I lost the pleasure of a walk, of seeing and smelling the ocean, of appreciating Nature's beauty, of enjoying a play, a musical, a movie. I missed all the holiday festivities. I longed for the company of family and friends, the pleasure of working and going to church. I lived a nightmare from which there was no waking up, and which lasted for many endless months.  I could not go to work for an entire year and lived my life in an unending pain.I called many medical practice attorneys in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura, but not one was willing to take my case because they believed that it would have been difficult for the jury to understand the need of nutrients to help a failing liver. Utilizing alternative medicine for healing is still considered by many an anomalous approach. The attorneys felt that if the medical malpractice had been caused by prescription drugs, it would have been an easy case to win, but with the involvement of an unusual approach, it would have been too difficult for a jury to determine liability and therefor the case was not worth their time and expenses.In desperation, I called Mr. Peter Bertling for any recommendation. As soon as I explained my situation, he offered to handle my malpractice medical case.His performance, support and confidence throughout the entire time it took to complete the medical malpractice management was superb. It lasted two years, but Mr. Peter Bertling was always at the top of the situation, studied every facet of the case, learned all about alternative medicine, checked hundreds medical records, interviewed experts in case-winning proficiency, conducted depositions masterly, visited me in the hospital, in the nursing facilities and at home. In the end, the defense agreed to pay a considerable settlement making the trial unnecessary. Furthermore Mr. Peter Bertling negotiated an incredibly advantageous deal with Medicare for the medical lien on the huge amount of money Medicare had paid for the medical services I had incurred. I owe every penny of the settlement to Mr. Peter Bertling and I will be grateful to him my entire life.