What kinds of compensation is available for medical negligence?

There are a wide variety of damages in a medical negligence case for which you and your family may seek compensation. Generally, a medical malpractice lawsuit will demand compensation for economic and non-economic damages. In the most severe cases of gross negligence by a medical professional, punitive damages may be awarded as compensation as well.

Economic Damages: Income and Medical Bills

Economic damages are those expenses that a victim of medical malpractice has lost (or paid) as a direct result of the negligence caused injury. Common examples of economic damages are lost income and medical expenses.

For both lost income and medical costs, the court will award money for past, current and future damages. For example, if an injury leads to someone becoming unable to work, or unable to earn as much as before the injury, all the future lost income will be paid out in the award or settlement. Additionally, with regards to medical expenses, all the bills associated with the medical malpractice injury will be covered and the court will award money for any estimated future costs of medical care.

Non-Economic Damages: Pain and Suffering

Non-economic damages are those that are not easily "quantified". The most common example of this is compensation for pain and suffering. Calculating a payout for pain and suffering is fairly subjective, and usually based on payouts in similar past cases.

In many medical malpractice lawsuits, compensation for pain and suffering will make up the largest portion of the award or settlement money. However, many states have placed caps on the amount of money that may be awarded for pain and suffering. These caps usually range from $250,000 to $750,000, and are in place as an effort to minimize the cost of medical malpractice insurance for hospitals and doctors.

Some states that have placed caps on pain and suffering in medical negligence cases include California, Texas and Florida. Some large states like New York and Pennsylvania have not placed such caps, and other states have removed them after deciding they were unconstitutional.

Punitive Damages: Punishment

In cases of gross medical negligence, punitive damages may be awarded as punishment for the poor treatment of a hospital or doctor. These cases are rare, and involve levels of medical negligence or carelessness that are believed to pose a serious threat to future patients.

Punitive damages are paid to the patient in addition to all other compensation to punish the hospital or doctor and to ensure the same gross negligence does not harm patients in the future.