Malpractice Litigation: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Understanding Your Rights to Medical Malpractice Compensation in New York

Medical malpractice can lead to various losses, such as medical expenses that are costly along with lost wages, and non-economic damages, such as suffering and pain. A licensed New York attorney can help you know your rights to compensation.

The first step is to determine if you sustained injuries due to a medical mistake. Then, you can proceed with a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical expenses

The cost of medical care to treat injuries is the most obvious. It is important to know that this category of damages is restricted by state law at a specific amount set in the liability policy of a healthcare provider's insurance policy. Some states have also established injured patient compensation funds to offset the perceived costs of litigation and help providers lower their liability insurance costs.

Victims are entitled to compensation in addition to medical costs in the event that negligence is found to be the cause. These are referred to as special or economic damages. They include the costs of any medical procedures (past and in the future) that are necessary to treat the injury that resulted from the malpractice, as the loss of income due to being unable to work because of the injury.

Damages for suffering and pain are common in medical malpractice cases. The amount of damages for pain and suffering can differ widely among claimants and is subjective. It includes any emotional or physical discomfort and other physical or psychological effects due to the mistake. For instance, a plaintiff might be compensated in the event that an error by a doctor that led her to not take part in a crucial cancer screening.

In some instances the punitive damages may be granted. They are meant to penalize an individual doctor for a particularly reckless behavior, like leaving a sponge in the patient after surgery.

Pain and suffering

In medical malpractice cases there is pain and suffering as an example of non-economic damages. The damages are based on the physical and mental trauma that sufferers suffered as a result the negligence of a doctor. The symptoms could be mild such as discomfort or anxiety or they could be more severe, like loss of enjoyment in life as well as depression, embarrassment or fear.

It's not easy to put the value of suffering and pain, therefore jury instructions usually leave it up to the jurors to make use of their own judgment as well as their background and experience in determining what they believe is fair and reasonable. In the end, the amount of money awarded in malpractice cases vary widely.

Your medical malpractice lawyer can help you prove the extent of your suffering through evidence that is tangible. X-rays, photos, home movies, models, diagrams and drawings can help a jury determine the extent of your injuries as well as how they affect your daily life.

If negligence by a doctor led to the death of a victim, heirs can recover damages via wrongful death lawsuits or survival statutes. Wrongful death law permits the spouse and children of a victim killed to receive the same compensation they would have received had the patient survived. In most cases, however the amount a victim receives is limited by a state's damages caps for suffering and pain. It is crucial to find a skilled medical malpractice lawyer on your side to ensure you receive the compensation you're entitled to.

Lost wages

You may be able to recover lost wages in the event that you miss work due to medical error. This amount includes your base salary bonus, commissions, bonuses and benefits from employment. Also, it includes any pay raises or increases in pay. Your attorney will examine your pay stubs from the past to calculate your average earnings prior to your injury. You will after that, subtract your missing work to determine the total loss of wages. Your lawyer can also assist you in determining the future loss of earnings using a present value calculation. This is an analysis of financials that analyzes the effects of your injuries into the future on your ability to earn money. It's usually performed by a professional who is hired by your attorney.

There is also the possibility of recovering non-economic damages like pain and suffering caused by the error. The jury will decide on the appropriate compensation amount for these damages, and it could vary from case to case. However, some states have caps on these damages, and have been declared unconstitutional in a number of cases.

Settlements of seven figures tend to be connected with serious permanent injuries or death caused by extreme medical neglect. For instance, surgical errors leading to amputations, complications during obstetrics that cause infant brain damage and death, and anesthesia mistakes causing comas might all command high-value settlements. Punitive damages, intended to punish bad behavior are also available in certain situations.

Damages for future medical treatments

In a case of medical negligence the plaintiff may seek economic or non-economic damages. The first is based on measurable losses, such as past or future medical expenses. The latter is more difficult to quantify and includes pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment. In a lawsuit involving medical negligence, the jury must examine expert testimony to determine these types losses.

Past medical expenses are simple to prove through the submission of actual bills from the victim's health medical providers. For future expenses, the lawyer for the plaintiff will submit medical evidence that proves the type of treatment that is likely to be required in the future and the amount that those treatments cost currently. The amount of medical treatments required could be affected by the age of the victim at the time of the incident.

The damages for lost wages in the future can be proven by proving the impact of the injury on the patient's ability to work and earning capacity in the future. This can be supported by expert witness testimony or by looking at similar cases in the previous.

Pain and suffering is a larger class of damages that encompasses the physical and emotional discomfort and distress that suffers patients because of medical malpractice. This type of damage is usually based on the statements of witnesses and the victim and evidence like photos or videotapes, as well as written reports.