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Understanding Your Rights to Medical Malpractice Compensation in New York

Medical malpractice can cause numerous damages, including high-cost medical care, lost income and damages not based on economics, such as suffering and pain. A New York attorney who is experienced can help you understand the rights to compensation that you are entitled to.

First consider if your injuries resulted from a medical error. Then you can proceed with an action for malpractice.

Medical expenses

The most obvious cost of malpractice is the cost of medical care needed to treat the injuries that result. This type of damages comes with the limitation set by law of the state which is determined in the liability insurance policy of a healthcare provider. Certain states also have injured patient compensation funds to cover the perceived cost of litigation and to help lower the liability costs for health care providers.

In addition to medical expenses, victims are entitled to compensation for other expenses that are a result of negligence. These are referred to as economic or special damages. They include the costs of any medical procedures (past and in the future) that are required to treat the injuries resulting from the malpractice, as as any lost income caused by being unable to work because of the injury.

Damages for pain and suffering are also typical in medical malpractice cases. The amount of damages for pain and suffering may differ greatly between claimants and is subjective. This includes emotional distress, physical pain as well as other non-physical consequences of the error. For instance, a plaintiff could be paid for a mistake by a doctor that caused her to miss a crucial cancer screening appointment.

In some cases the punitive damages may be awarded. They are intended to penalize an individual doctor for the most egregious behavior, like leaving an unclean sponge in the patient's body after surgery.

Pain and suffering

Pain and suffering is a type of non-economic damages in medical malpractice attorney cases. The damages are for physical and psychological trauma victims suffered due to the medical professional's negligence. The symptoms can be minor like discomfort or anxiety or they can be major, like loss of enjoyment in life, depression, embarrassment and fear.

As it's hard to put a dollar value on suffering and pain, the jury instructions typically leave it to the jurors. They are able to use their judgment, background and experience to decide what they believe is fair and reasonable. The amounts awarded in malpractice lawsuits vary greatly.

A medical malpractice lawyer can help you prove the severity of your suffering through evidence that can be used to prove your case. Photos and X-rays, along with home models, movies and diagrams can assist jurors in understanding the severity of your injuries.

If a doctor's malpractice caused the death of a patient's heirs, they could be able to recover damages through the survival statutes, or wrongful death lawsuits. Laws governing wrongful deaths allow the spouse and children of a deceased victim to receive the same amount of compensation they would have received had the patient survived. In general, however, the total amount of damages that a victim is able to collect is limited by a state's damage caps for pain and suffering. This is why it's important to find a skilled medical malpractice lawyer on your side to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.

Lost wages

If you have to miss work because of medical malpractice you may be able to recover your lost wages. This amount includes your base pay as well as commissions, bonuses, employment benefits, pay raises, and retirement fund contributions. Your attorney will examine your past pay stubs to calculate your earnings per hour before the injury, and after that, subtract your missed work to arrive at your total lost wages. Your attorney can help you determine the loss you will incur in the future income through a current value calculation. This is an analysis of your finances that analyzes the consequences of your injuries in the future on your ability to earn a living. This is usually done by a specialist hired through your attorney.

In addition, to compensating your economic losses, you can recover non-economic damages to compensate for pain and suffering that was caused by the malpractice incident. The jury will determine the appropriate compensation amount, which can vary from case to case. Certain states set a maximum amount for these damages. However, they have been declared unconstitutional by several courts.

Settlements of seven figures are generally related to serious permanent injuries or death caused by extreme healthcare negligence. Settlements of high value can be awarded for, among others, surgical errors that cause amputations and brain damage to infants and mothers, as well as anesthesia errors that lead to comas. Punitive damages, which are intended to punish bad behavior are also available in certain cases.

Damages for future medical care

In a medical malpractice case, there are two types of damages a plaintiff could seek: economic and non-economic damages. The first is based on quantifiable financial losses, including future and past medical expenses. The latter are more difficult to quantify and encompass the suffering and pain as well as loss of enjoyment of life. In a case of medical malpractice the jury will have to hear expert testimony to evaluate the kind of losses.

It is fairly easy to prove the cost of medical treatment in the past by submitting actual bills sent to the injured person by their health medical providers. The attorney for the plaintiff will submit medical evidence to demonstrate the kind of treatment that is likely to be required in the future, and what they cost today. The amount of future medical care needed can also be influenced by the victim's age at the time of the incident.

Damages for future lost wages can be proved by demonstrating the impact of the injury on the patient's ability to work and earn in the future. This can be supported by expert witness testimony or by looking at similar cases in the preceding.

Pain and suffering is a broad term that covers the mental and physical discomfort and stress which patients suffer because of medical negligence. This type of damage is usually based on the statements of the victim and witnesses, as well evidence like photographs or videotapes, as well as written reports.