Understanding Your Rights to Medical Malpractice Compensation in New York
Medical malpractice can cause a number of losses including medical bills that are expensive loss of wages, as well as non-economic damages like suffering and pain. A New York attorney who is experienced can help you understand the compensation rights that you have.
The first step is to determine if you sustained injuries due to a medical error. Then you can proceed with a
malpractice lawsuit.
Medical expenses
The most obvious expense in the context of malpractice is that of medical treatment required to treat the resultant injuries. This category of damages is subject to the limitation that is set by law of the state, which is outlined in the liability insurance policy of a health care provider. Certain states also have established injured patient compensation funds in order to help offset the costs of litigation and to help health care providers lower their liability insurance premiums.
In addition to medical expenses In addition to medical expenses, victims are entitled to compensation for any other expenses related to the negligence. These are referred to as economic or special damages. They cover the costs of any medical treatment (past and future) required to treat the injuries resulting from the malpractice, as well as any lost income due to not being able to work because of the injury.
The damages for suffering and pain are typical in medical malpractice cases. The amount of damages for pain and suffering may differ greatly between claimants and is considered to be subjective. It covers any physical or emotional pain as well as other physical effects associated with the negligence. For instance an individual plaintiff could be compensated for a mistake made by a doctor which caused her to miss an important cancer screening appointment.
In some instances punitive damages can be given. They are meant to penalize an individual doctor for a particularly reckless conduct, such as leaving a sponge in the body of a patient after surgery.
Pain and suffering
Pain and suffering is an example of non-economic damage in medical malpractice cases. They are a way to compensate for the physical and emotional trauma suffered by a victim as a result of the medical professional's negligence. The symptoms can be minor like discomfort or anxiety or they can be major such as a loss of joy in life or depression, embarrassment, or fear.
Since it's difficult to place an amount on suffering and suffering, the jury instructions generally leave it up to the jurors. They are able to use their judgment, background and experience to decide what they believe to be fair and reasonable. Therefore, the amount given in malpractice cases can vary greatly.
A medical
malpractice lawyer can assist you in proving your injuries through evidence. X-rays and photos, as well as home videos, diagrams and models can help a juror understand the extent of your injuries.
If a doctor's negligence caused the death of a victim, family members can seek damages through the wrongful death lawsuit or through survival statutes. In the case of wrongful death, laws generally allow a deceased victim's spouse and children to claim the same compensation they would have received if the patient had survived. In general, however, the total amount of damages an individual victim receives is restricted by a state's damages caps for suffering and pain. This is why it's so important to find a skilled medical malpractice attorney on your side to fight for the settlement you deserve.
Lost wages
You can get back your lost wages if your absence from work due to medical error. This includes your base salary, bonuses, commissions and other benefits of employment. Also, it includes any pay increases or pay increases. Your attorney will review your pay stubs from the past to calculate your average earnings before the injury, and then subtract out your lost work to calculate the total loss of earnings. Your lawyer can help you determine the loss you will incur in the future income using a current value calculation. This is a sophisticated analysis of financials that considers the effects of your injuries on your capacity to work in the future, and it's generally performed by a specialist employed by your attorney.
You may also be able to recover non-economic damages like the pain and suffering resulted from the malpractice. The jury will determine the appropriate amount of compensation which may differ from case to case. Certain states, however, have limits on these damages, and have been ruled unconstitutional in a number of cases.
Settlements of seven figures are typically connected with serious permanent injuries or death caused by extreme medical negligence. Settlements with high value may be awarded for among other things, surgical blunders which cause amputations, or brain injuries to infants and mothers and mothers, as well as anesthesia errors that can cause comas. Punitive damages, which are designed to punish bad behaviour are also available in certain situations.
Damages for future medical care
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 on calculable financial losses, such as future and past medical expenses. The latter are more difficult to quantify and encompass the pain and suffering as well as the loss of enjoyment of life. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the jury will need to hear testimony from experts in order to judge these kinds of losses.
It is fairly easy to prove the cost of medical treatment in the past by providing actual bills sent to the injured person by their health care providers. For future expenses, the attorney for the plaintiff will submit medical evidence that shows what treatments are likely to be required in the future and the amount that those treatments cost at present. The amount of medical treatment required can be influenced by the victim's age at the time of the malpractice.
Proving damages for future lost wages is attainable by demonstrating how the injury has affected the patient's ability to earn and ability to work. This may be supported by expert testimony or by reviewing similar cases from the past.
Pain and suffering is a larger type of damage that covers the physical and psychological discomfort and distress that a patient suffers due to medical malpractice. This type of damages is generally based on testimony from the victim and other witnesses as well as evidence such as photographs, videotapes and written reports.