Patients in hospitals and healthcare facilities are supposed to be under the care of doctors and other professionals; it is the general idea that being in a place of caretaking ensures that you will not be injured while staying. Unfortunately, doctor malpractice happens quite often to patients. There are many reasons that a doctor can make a mistake and lead to severe consequences, but what is more important is the action you take afterward. If you have been harmed in a doctor malpractice case, you should see to it that you seek proper legal action to remedy the issue and receive financial compensation for your injuries. Your case may be worth a large sum, but you will need the professional assistance of an expert attorney to secure you the settlement. Our team of qualified lawyers at the top-rated Normandie Law Firm can help you fight for your deserved compensation. We often receive questions about these types of cases and how much a claim might be worth. Some examples of these questions include:
- How much is a physician malpractice case worth?
- How much can you get for a doctor’s negligence that injured you?
- How much can you receive if a doctor injured you?
- How much does a doctor mistake injury case typically settle for?
Negligence of a Doctor
In order for you to prove doctor negligence, you must be able to show a few points. These points are similar to the factors needed to prove all personal injury claims, but they are tailored to the needs of medical patients.
To begin, and perhaps most importantly, you must be able to show that you and the doctor had established a doctor/patient relationship. This means that you must not have merely taken some advice from a doctor outside of a hospital or that you read a blog with recommended treatments. You must have been under the care of a doctor, whether through emergency care or with an agreement to treatment of some kind.
Next, you the doctor must have breached his duty of care in some way, and other doctors must agree that the responsible party’s actions were out of character or that they would not have taken the same measures under the same circumstances. Of course, some doctors are under high levels of stress and duress during some procedures, and they may be acting in what they believe is the patient’s best interest.
Then, an accident or incident must have occurred from the breach of duty. This can include any number of errors, whether by the doctor’s hand or by his command.
Lastly, you must have received some kind of physical injury from the negligence. Keep in mind that not every injury is a signal of negligence; for instance, if you suffer internal bleeding during surgery, it may not be the fault of the doctor and it could be attributed to complications from the surgery. If you were not injured, you will not be able to sue the doctor, sue the nurse, or sue the hospital.
If you need more assistance determining the definition of doctor negligence, contact one of our experienced Los Angeles attorneys.
Kinds of Doctor Malpractice
There are numerous types of doctor malpractice that you can suffer. It is important to consult with another doctor if the harms were particularly egregious so you could seek corrective procedures, and it is equally important that you seek out legal counsel to move forward with a lawsuit.
You may be subjected to malpractice in the form of:
- Surgical Errors: A doctor may mistakenly amputate a part of your body that you did not need amputated, or he may remove organs or nerves that were perfectly healthy. This can happen because of transcription errors or simple mistakes; a doctor’s judgment and attention may be called into question in these cases. If you suffer a wrongful amputation, your claim may be worth much more.
- Diagnosis Errors: When you see a doctor, he should diagnose you with as close to your condition as possible. Although there are times when mistakes occur, a missed diagnosis or a misdiagnosis can lead to terrible consequences. For example, missing cancer in a patient ad recommending other treatment could take away the crucial window that could enable treatment to be most effective.
- Medication Mistakes: Some doctors may not pay attention to what patients are allergic to or they may overprescribe some medication. This can lead to intestinal problems and mental issues if the patients obey the orders. In the worst cases, medication errors can cause addiction and overdoses.
- Dirty Equipment: All equipment used by doctors and nurses must be properly cleaned and sanitized. If it is not, bacteria can infect patients, leading to infections and other sicknesses. The amount of compensation for nurse making a mistake and injuring a patient can be hefty if it can be proven that the surgical tools were not sterilized.
- Wrongful Death: If a doctor’s actions bring about the untimely and wrongful death of a patient, he or the hospital could face a severe lawsuit. Any of the above types of malpractice can lead to a death if the malpractice is particularly severe.
For more help determining the average value of a doctor malpractice case, call one of our lawyers in Los Angeles.
Average Value of a Doctor Negligence Injury Lawsuit
In order to determine the value of your case, the insurance adjuster will examine your injuries and how severe they are, as well as how much of an impact they have on your daily life and your career. There is no doctor malpractice settlement calculator that allows you to input numbers and have a value appear. Instead, everything will be considered for fairness sake.
For example, if you suffer an amputation of the hand, your case may be worth more if you will be unable to hold the same job in the future, such as a typist or a court stenographer. Your job abilities will be greatly and permanently impacted, and you will need to seek a different kind of employment. Other factors, like necessity of a wheelchair or changes to your home because of a handicap, will also be used to determine the value.
Additionally, the amount of medical bills you rack up will greatly contribute to the value of the case. Clients ask how much money can you earn from medical bills, and the answer is there is no upper limit.
Below, we have provided some average settlement amounts for physician malpractice lawsuits to show the average court settlement for doctor mistake claims. These are not direct examples of what your case will be worth if it is similar; you should use them as benchmarks to see the range of compensation available.
- $5,200,000 Verdict: A 49 year old man was diagnosed with a sprained knee. Upon returning to the ER, it was discovered that he suffered an injury to an artery and required an amputation above the knee. The misdiagnosis and missed injury is the basis of his lawsuit; the doctor claims that the injury likely happened after he was initially discharged. After some deliberation, the jury awarded the individual his fair share of compensation.
- $2,100,000 Verdict: A woman suffered a hernia in her esophagus and required two surgeries. A mesh that was used to close the hole was deemed faulty. After suffering through nine more surgeries, her hernia was deemed irreparable, leaving her with constant health problems. Her lawsuit was based on the negligent or wrongful actions of the doctor inserting the mesh. Although the defendants stated that they followed protocol and did not make any errors, the woman was awarded a hefty settlement.
Keep in mind that the doctor error injury average settlement value is often increased because of the million dollar case. The median values are much lower. If you have questions, call Normandie Law Firm to speak with a top attorney about your lawsuit.
Free Second Opinion on Your Case
The reason that many clients call us asking about the average case value for a medical malpractice lawsuit is because they are usually dubious about their current legal representation. In many examples of medical malpractice cases, attorneys will implore their clients to settle as quickly as possible. They will try to net a low offer from the insurance agency so that they can collect their checks and move on to the next This is an outright act of betrayal from the lawyers; their focus and concern should be on getting the highest amount of compensation for their clients, not filling their own pockets.
If you believe your current lawyer is acting against your best interests, call us to receive a free second opinion on your case. We will tell you if we believe your current attorney is doing his due diligence or if he is merely trying to move on to the next case after securing a cut of your settlement. We will also advise you as to the next option for legal compensation.
Compensation from a Doctor Negligence Lawsuit
Doctor malpractice lawsuit settlement amounts vary from case to case, but you can earn the same kinds of compensation regardless of your circumstances. These forms of compensation include:
- Medical expenses: Surgery, hospitalization, medication, physical therapy, and future medical treatments can be covered in a lawsuit. It is worth noting that medical expenses have no upper limit in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- Lost income: If you were out of work for a period of time because of your injuries or if you will be out of work in the future due to recovery time or other procedures, your wages can be reimbursed.
- Property damage: Anything you owned that was broken or needs repairs due to negligence of the doctor can be reimbursed.
- Pain and suffering: These psychological damages, like fear, anxiety, PTSD, and mental stress, can be covered in a lawsuit, but you should be aware that they are capped at $250,000.
- Punitive damages: Only a skilled lawyer can win these for you because they are viewed as excessive by many courts. They are merely additional forms of monetary compensation handed out in order to punish the egregious actions or intentional harms of the responsible party.
- Wrongful death compensation: If a family member or loved one passes away because of the negligent actions of a doctor, then the ensuing funeral and burial expenses can be covered, as well as a loss of consortium, loss of inheritance and expected savings, and pre-death pain and suffering and medical bills.
For more information on the average payout for a nurse mistake injury case, call our law firm today.
Normandie: Here for Victims of Doctor Negligence
Our law firm in Los Angeles, Normandie Law Firm, prides itself on helping all victims of accidents, including medical malpractice recipients. We believe that you are entitled to the utmost care when you are under a doctor’s supervision, and a violation of that care should be punished accordingly. You should not be held responsible for your expenses if a negligent doctor caused you harm. Our lawyers are willing to fight for your fair compensation and aggressively go after the insurance agents responsible for your case to ensure a worthwhile settlement.
Call us today for a free legal consultation on your case; you will not have to worry about your private information and case details escaping either, as all consultations are completely confidential. We will tell you what we believe your case is worth and how our zero fee guarantee works – which promises that you will not pay any expenses throughout the case, win or lose.
If you have questions about the case worth for a registered nurse error injury lawsuit or any other kind of doctor negligence claim, contact our accomplished attorneys at Normandie Law Firm.
