Understanding Your Rights to Medical Malpractice Compensation in New York
Medical malpractice can result in various losses, including medical bills that are expensive along with lost wages, and non-economic damages like pain and suffering. A reputable New York attorney can help you determine your rights to a fair settlement.
First decide if your injuries resulted from a medical error. Then, you can proceed with a malpractice
lawsuit.
Medical expenses
The expense of medical treatment to treat injuries is the most obvious. This category of damages is subject to a cap established by law in each state, which is determined in the liability insurance policy of a healthcare provider. Certain states also have injured patient compensation funds to help offset the perceived cost of litigation, and also to help drive down liability premiums for providers.
Victims can claim compensation in addition to medical costs in the event of negligence being deemed to be a factor. These are called economic or special damages. They cover the cost of any medical services (past and in the future) that are necessary to treat the injury that resulted from the malpractice, as well as any lost income due to not being able to work due to the injury.
The damages for suffering and pain are common in medical malpractice cases. The amount of damages for pain and suffering is subjective and may vary greatly between different claimants. It includes any physical pain, emotional stress and other physical consequences that result from the malpractice. A plaintiff, for example, could be compensated if a doctor made a mistake that caused her to fail to attend a crucial cancer screening.
In some cases punitive damages could be granted. They are meant to penalize an individual doctor for a particularly reckless behavior, for example, leaving a sponge inside a patient after surgery.
Pain and suffering
The pain and suffering category is an example of non-economic damage in medical
malpractice cases. The compensation is for the physical and psychological trauma a victim suffered due to the negligence of the doctor. The symptoms can be minor such as pain or anxiety or they may be more serious, like loss of enjoyment in life depression, embarrassment, and anxiety.
It's not easy to put the value of suffering and pain, therefore jury instructions typically leave the decision to jurors to rely on their own judgment knowledge, background, and experience in determining what they believe is fair and reasonable. The amount of compensation awarded in malpractice lawsuits vary greatly.
Your medical malpractice lawyer will assist you in proving the severity of your suffering by using evidence that can be used to prove your case. Photographs and X-rays along with home models, videos and diagrams can aid jurors in understanding the severity of your injuries.
If a physician's mistake resulted in the death of a patient's family members, the heirs can seek damages through survival statutes or lawsuits. The law governing wrongful death allows the spouse and children of the deceased victim to receive the same amount of compensation they would have received if the patient had survived. Generally, however, the amount that a victim is able to collect is limited by the state's damage caps for pain and suffering. It is essential to have an experienced medical
malpractice lawyer by your side to ensure you receive the compensation you're entitled to.
Lost wages
If you have to miss work due to medical negligence you may be able to recover your lost wages. This amount includes your base salary bonus, commissions, bonuses and benefits from employment. It also includes any pay increases or increases in pay. Your attorney will review past pay stubs in order to calculate your average earnings prior to the accident. Then, subtract your absence from that number to arrive at total lost wages. Your lawyer can also help you determine the future loss of earnings using a present value calculation. This is a financial analysis that examines the consequences of your injuries in the future on your ability to earn an income. It's typically performed by a professional hired by your attorney.
In addition to compensating for your economic losses, you could also seek non-economic damages to compensate for pain and suffering triggered by the incident. The jury will decide on the appropriate amount of compensation for these damages, and it can vary widely from case to instance. Certain states set a maximum amount for these damages. However, they have been declared inconstitutional by numerous courts.
Seven-figure settlements usually involve serious permanent injuries or wrongful deaths caused by extreme healthcare negligence. Settlements of high value can be awarded for among other things, surgical mistakes that cause amputations and brain damage to infants or mothers as well as anesthesia errors that lead to comas. Punitive damages, which are designed to punish bad behavior, may also be available in certain circumstances.
Damages to future medical treatment
In a medical malpractice lawsuit there are two types of damages that a plaintiff may pursue: non-economic and economic damages. The former are based upon calculable financial losses, including future and past medical expenses. The latter is more difficult to quantify, and includes suffering and pain as well as loss of enjoyment of living. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the jury will need to hear testimony from experts in order to judge the kind of losses.
It is fairly simple to establish past medical expenses by submitting actual bills that were sent to the person injured by their health healthcare providers. The plaintiff's attorney will provide medical evidence to prove the kind of treatment that is likely to be required in the near future, and what they cost today. The amount of future medical care needed can also be affected by the victim's age at the time of the incident.
The damages for lost wages in the future can be proved by proving the impact of the injury on the patient's capacity to work and earning capacity in the future. This can be proven by expert testimony from a witness or by examining similar cases in the previous.
Pain and suffering is an umbrella word that describes the mental and physical discomfort and distress that patients suffer due to medical negligence. This kind of claim is generally based on testimony from the victim and other witnesses and evidence like photos, videos and written reports.