Understanding Your Rights to Medical Malpractice Compensation in New York

Medical malpractice can result in many damages, including high-cost medical expenses, loss of income and other damages, such as suffering and pain. A New York attorney who is qualified can help you understand the rights to compensation that you are entitled to.

The first step is to determine if you suffered injuries because of a medical error. Then you can proceed with a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical expenses

The cost of medical care to treat injuries is the most obvious. This category of damages has a cap set by law of the state which is set in the liability insurance policy of a health provider. Certain states have also created injured patient compensation funds to offset the perceived costs of litigation, and also help providers cut their liability insurance cost.

Victims can claim compensation in addition to medical expenses in the event of negligence being deemed to be a factor. These are referred to as special or economic damages. They include the cost of medical services (past or future) necessary to treat the injury caused by the malpractice and also any income loss due to being in a position of being unable to work.

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 subjective. This includes emotional distress, physical pain and other non-physical effects of the malpractice. A plaintiff, for example could be compensated if the doctor's error which caused her to not attend an important cancer screening.

In some cases punitive damages could be given. These are intended to punish the doctor for egregious actions, like leaving an unclean sponge in the patient's body after surgery.

Suffering and pain

In medical malpractice cases the pain and suffering of the victim is a type non-economic damages. The damages cover the physical and mental trauma that the victim endured as a result the negligence of the doctor. The symptoms can be minor such as anxiety or discomfort, or major, such as loss of enjoyment of life and depression, embarrassment, insomnia, and fear.

It's difficult to establish a dollar amount on the suffering and suffering of others, which is why jury instructions generally leave the decision to jurors to rely on their own judgment as well as their background and experience in determining what is fair and reasonable. The amounts awarded in malpractice lawsuits can vary.

A medical malpractice lawyer can help you prove your injuries through evidence. X-rays, photos, models, home movies, diagrams, and drawings can all help a jury see the extent of your injuries as well as how they have impacted your daily life.

If negligence by a doctor led to the death of a victim survivors can seek compensation through wrongful death lawsuits or survival statutes. The laws governing wrongful death typically allow a deceased victim's spouse and children to collect the same type of compensation as they would've received had the patient survived. The amount that a victim may receive is usually limited by the state's limits on suffering and pain. It is important to have a knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer by your side in order to pursue the compensation you deserve.

Loss of wages

If you have to miss work due to medical malpractice you may be able to recover your lost wages. This amount includes your base salary bonus, commissions, bonuses and employment benefits. Also, it includes any pay raises or pay increases. Your lawyer will review your past pay stubs and calculate your income before the accident. Then, subtract the absence from that number to determine your total lost earnings. Your lawyer can help you determine the loss you will incur in the future income by using a current 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 specialist hired through your attorney.

You may also be able to recover non-economic damages like pain and suffering caused by the error. The jury will decide the appropriate compensation amount for malpractice lawsuit these damages, which can differ from case to circumstance. Some states cap these damages. However they have been ruled inconstitutional by numerous courts.

Settlements of seven figures tend to be related to serious permanent injuries or death caused by severe healthcare negligence. For example, surgical mistakes resulting in amputations, mistakes in obstetrics that lead to the brain of an infant and death, and anesthesia mistakes that cause comas could all be the reason for high-value settlements. Punitive damages, specifically designed to punish bad conduct could also be a possibility in certain instances.

Damages for future medical treatments

In a medical malpractice lawsuit there are two kinds of damages that a plaintiff may seek: economic and non-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 include the pain and suffering as well as the loss of enjoyment of life. In a medical malpractice lawsuit the jury will have to hear testimony from experts to determine these kinds of losses.

It is fairly simple to prove medical expenses from the past by submitting actual bills that were given to the injured person by their health care providers. The lawyer representing the plaintiff will provide medical evidence to prove what procedures are likely be needed in the future, and what they cost now. The amount of future medical treatment needed could be affected by the victim's age at the time of the malpractice.

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

Pain and suffering is a wider type of damage that covers the physical and emotional pain and pain that patients suffer due to medical malpractice attorneys. This kind of claim is generally based on testimony from the victim and other witnesses and evidence such as videos, photographs and written reports.