A patient injured in a medical malpractice lawsuit may be entitled to recover damages, ranging from medical bills to lost earnings as well as pain and suffering. Should the medical malpractice result in death, the patient’s family is entitled to damage recovery. If you or someone you know has been the victim of medical malpractice, contact the personal injury attorneys of Finkelstein and Partners, LLP today. Our team of medical malpractice attorneys will stop at nothing to make sure that you receive the best possible legal representation.
In order for a patient to recover damages, they must be able to prove that medical malpractice actually caused their damages. There must also be a significant price tag on those damages. There are three different types of damages that can be recovered from a medical malpractice case; general, special and punitive.
General damages refer to the patient’s cost of suffering. Examples of this may include physical and mental pain and suffering, future loss of earnings and loss of overall quality and enjoyment of life. Every medical malpractice case is very different in nature and arriving at a set dollar amount for damages can be difficult. In order to do so, the patient will have to give evidence of their pain and suffering and lost quality of life. Upon doing so, an expert will make a testimony about the consequences of the patient’s injury and how it will affect them in the future. If the patient is young and will be impaired long term, an estimate of future lost wages will be necessary.
Special damages include the more quantitative aspects of the case, such as medical bills and past impact of work. With these expenses, it is usually easier to reach an exact dollar amount as there are no uncertain expenses. However, consulting an expert may still be a good idea, but in most states providing copies of these expense bills should suffice.
The regulations on punitive damages vary from state to state, however the general rule to receive these damages is that the doctor or medical professional must have been aware that they were acting negligently. In other words, there must be proof that the doctor’s actions were intentional and led to your injuries. The exact amount of punitive damages that an individual is able to receive will be left up to the judge. Usually these amounts cannot exceed several times the amount being collected in general and special damages.
Contact the personal injury attorneys of Finkelstein and Partners, LLP today. Our expert team of attorneys has the knowledge and experience to offer top quality legal representation to help you fight for your damages. Call us today at 800-529-2676.
Mr. Finkelstein is the Managing Partner of Finkelstein & Partners, LLP. He has become a noted consumer activist through his representation of injured individuals against corporate wrongdoers and irresponsible parties.
An accomplished litigator, Mr. Finkelstein has represented Plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases. He has successfully handled dozens of multi-million dollar cases.