In a medical malpractice case, general damages (non-economic damages) relate to compensation for physical suffering caused by a medical error. The severity of the suffering arising from the medical error would be taken into consideration during the trial to determine an appropriate amount of damages.
What are Economic Damages?
Economic damages include loss of future earning potential. Medical errors can result in short or long term disability, treatments that prevent people from returning to work, or disable people from ever working again. In these cases, you would be entitled to lost earnings damages.
Lost earnings damages seek to compensate you for the potential income you would have received if the medical error had not occurred.
Damages resulting from economic losses may be subject to caps in different states.
What are Punitive Damages?
Punitive damages include compensation to make the victim whole again. In some cases, these serve to penalize the negligent party for reckless or malicious behavior against the victim. The amount of damages arising from such cases is sometimes subject to discretion.
When analyzing a medical malpractice case, lawyers may take the amount of damages into account before deciding to proceed with the lawsuit.
What are Some Examples of Damages from Medical Malpractice?
Emotional distress damages due to medical malpractice
Emotional distress damages are paid to compensate you for any psychological suffering arising from a medical mistake. It can be stressful to deal with the long-term health consequences of a medical error. Furthermore, medical mistakes may also be especially emotionally traumatizing if your loved one is a victim.
Sometimes the psychological effects of a serious medical error can be so severe that it leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
If you or your loved one has suffered emotionally due to a medical mistake, it would be useful to reach out to us here to learn more about any recoverable damages.
Damages for Nerve Injury
Medical mistakes during surgery or anesthesia can result in nerve injury. This could occur from direct injury to the nerves during a procedure.
During a procedure where general anesthesia is used, patients who are not placed correctly can suffer from nerve injury due to impingement of the nerve.
If any injuries result in permanent nerve damage, these may form the basis for a medical malpractice case.
