Malpractice Compensation

Malpractice compensation typically covers past and future medical costs. It can also pay for those who have lost income as well as their inability to work.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to determine and include pain and suffering or distress, as well as frustration and anger. These are typically calculated using a degree of severity.

To prove that there was a malpractice in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must establish that a doctor was under the obligation to act professionally; that this obligation was not met and led to injury and resulted in damages.

Damages for Suffering and Pain

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, pain and suffering can be difficult to quantify since they are subjective. Contrary to financial losses, such as hospital bills and lost wages, which can easily be calculated to the penny, the pain and suffering refers to the victim's personal feelings of distress, discomfort and stress that are brought about by the negligent malpractice.

The physical discomfort associated with malpractice injuries can range from mild to severe. However, the emotional and psychological suffering can be even more serious. It can be characterized by anxiety, depression as well as anger, fear, frustrated, irritability and other negative impacts on the life of a person. The jury could take these into consideration when determining damages.

Examples of permanent impairments are disfigurement, scarring or loss of legs. These may make it difficult to exercise and maintain healthy relationships and complete daily tasks. In certain situations the lawyer might want to summon expert witnesses who can describe the effect on the quality of life of the person.

Although it's hard to establish an exact dollar value on these damages, a juror will use their knowledge, experience, and common sense when determining the value. This is why it is vital to have a knowledgeable and proficient legal team working for you to ensure that you are in a position to recover the entire amount of your loss.

Damages for Economic Loss

Economic damages reimburse a victim for their financial costs associated with a medical malpractice injury. These expenses typically cover past and future medical bills arising from treatment for a malpractice incident. They also include lost income in the event that the injury hinders the person from working or limits their earning capacity. These damages can be substantiated through documentation, like medical bills and wage records but some items of economic loss could require expert testimony to support.

For instance, a patient who suffers a serious physical injury from medical malpractice may require extensive long-term treatment, such as surgeries, medication and physical therapy. The cost of this treatment could reach the millions of dollars over the course of their lives.

In certain cases, the negligence of an medical professional could cause a lifelong disability, such as cerebral palsy or paralysis. This can entail costly ongoing treatment, as well as a major decrease in the patient's quality of life.

In some states, there are caps on the amount of damages a victim can receive in a medical malpractice lawsuit. In many courts, these limitations are ruled to be unconstitutional since they limit the right of the injured party to a fair legal remedy. New York does not impose damage caps, meaning that the victims can recover the full amount of their losses, both past and future, from the successful lawsuit for malpractice.

Damages for non-economic losses

Some medical malpractice cases are more difficult to quantify, such as discomfort and pain and loss of enjoyment of living. These damages are difficult to calculate but they can be assessed using an expert financial analysis and witness testimony.

Compensation also covers past and future medical costs. These can include hospital expenses, in-home care, medical accessories, and more. In addition, compensation can pay for lost income if an accident has prevented a victim from working, and also the possibility of losing future earnings.

When calculating these damages, the judge and jury will take several aspects into consideration. A jury and judge can give noneconomic damages if the injury resulting from a medical mistake reduces the quality of life of the person injured. This includes the cost of hiring a person to take on tasks that the injured person is no longer able to do like cooking, cleaning, or taking care of children.

In certain cases the behavior of a doctor can be so reckless or negligent that punitive sanctions are appropriate. These are designed to punish the offender and also send a message other professionals in the health industry. This is generally limited to instances that are particularly outrageous and involve a grave disregard for the safety of patients.

Damages for wrongful death

The loss of a loved one due to medical negligence can cause a lot of grief and financial hardship for family members. A representative may start a lawsuit in order to seek damages for the deceased's medical and funeral expenses, out-of-pocket costs like equipment for home health care or nursing care or loss of future earnings, the chance of inheritance and more. A plaintiff's lawyer can hire expert economists to analyze the lifespan of the deceased and calculate the projected loss of income.

Damages associated with wrongful death include compensatory and punitive damages. Compensatory damages compensate victims for any out-of-pocket expenses and other easily quantifiable losses like current and future medical expenses and loss of consortium suffering and disfigurement and mental suffering. Punitive damages are awarded to wrongdoers who have committed the most egregious of actions, like leaving a sponge inside the body of a patient in the course of surgery and requiring a second procedure to remove it.

A wrongful death action could be filed as a part of an ongoing malpractice case or with a survival action. To ensure that the plaintiff receives the full amount of damages in a wrongful-death case, it requires an attorney who is experienced in medical malpractice lawsuits cases. A knowledgeable lawyer will go through all the evidence and documents in order to determine how much a victim might be owed. A lawyer who is knowledgeable can present a persuasive argument to the jury and ensure that all damages are included in the settlement or verdict.