Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Your conviction does not limit your rights to sue for malpractice. But you are still subject to the same limits as everyone else, including the one-year statute of limitations. If your claim relates to something that happened 15 years ago, then it is almost certainly too late. But if you were injured recently, then your conviction should be irrelevant.

Note that the one-year period does not necessarily begin when the doctor committed malpractice. Sometimes malpractice is not apparent until much later. When that happens, the year begins when the plaintiff either learns or should have learned of his injury.

Note also that I said "learned of the injury", not "learned that the injury was caused by the doctor" or even "learned that the doctor was negligent".

If you think you have a viable claim, you should discuss it right away with competent counsel.

Good luck.

Not unless you are complaining about something he did within the last year.