When you’ve had to endure the traumatic experience of medical negligence, your first step after seeking medical care will be to find out if you’re eligible to file a lawsuit. A medical negligence claim can help compensate you for all the damages you’ve incurred — including physical, financial and psychological — as a result of the harm done. Many of the injuries that result from medical negligence can be financially crippling for families, so it’s natural to be concerned about how much you'll receive.
Keep reading to find out what goes into the average medical negligence settlement so you can understand what to expect from your settlement.
Factors That Influence Your Medical Negligence Settlement
It’s difficult to assign a specific number to a medical malpractice settlement, simply because there are so many factors that can affect the compensation. What’s more important is to understand what those factors are and how they affect what you may receive.
Factors That Can Increase Compensation Value:
- Severe injury. The value of compensation for victims who recover from their injuries won’t be as high as that for those who don’t recover. For disastrous injuries — such as brain damage — or harm that leads to disability or extensive medical care for recovery, the value of a settlement increases significantly.
- Medical costs. The cost of medical expenses as a result of a doctor’s negligence will play a big role in the settlement value. Should a patient require hospitalization, multiple surgeries or long-term medical care, the amount of compensation will increase to reflect that. This also includes all future medical costs related to the malpractice injury.
- Medical treatments already provided. Any treatments the patient had already received — even those paid for by health insurance in many cases — will factor into the settlement value.
- Non-financial damages. It’s not just quantifiable damages that can wreak havoc on a person’s health and future. The physical pain and emotional trauma of medical negligence — especially after severe harm, such as a permanent disability — are not reflected in medical bills, but they play a critical role in a settlement total. They affect an individual’s ability to go to work and can disrupt their behavior and relationships, affecting their overall quality of life. Therefore, patients who experience this level of harm will receive a higher compensation value than someone who has a less severe injury and is able to fully recover.
Factors That Can Decrease Compensation Value:
- Less severe injuries with full recovery. As mentioned above, settlement amounts vary widely based on the type of injury and whether or not the victim recovers. A patient who experiences minor harm and completely recovers will not be awarded as much of a settlement as a patient who suffers from permanent disability or requires long-term medical care.
- Medical care provided by an unqualified professional. If a victim seeks care for their injuries from a non-MD who is not considered qualified to treat their injuries — for example, a holistic provider — it can greatly reduce their settlement value.
- Partial fault. As hard as it is to believe that the physicians we trust could be guilty of negligence, it does happen. However, in certain rare instances, a patient may have contributed to the medical error that caused the injury. For example, if you claim that your doctor’s delayed diagnosis resulted in your condition, but you cancelled multiple follow-up exams, you could be partially responsible for your own injury or harm. If you’re found to be partially at fault, the settlement amount in your case will decrease.
JJS Justice Settlement Amounts
Here are a few of our winning cases in medical malpractice:
- Cancer misdiagnosis: Tens of millions of dollars in damages
- Mismanaged labor and delivery: $10 million in damages
- Sonogram misinterpretation: $9 million in damages
- Airway obstruction: $8.25 million in damages
- Placental abruption mishandling: $7.3 million in damages
- Negligent spinal treatment: $6 million in damages
Medical Negligence Attorneys Who Fight for Your Rights
If you believe you have been a victim of medical malpractice, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. The nationally recognized medical negligence attorneys at Janet, Janet & Suggs are here to fight tirelessly for your rights and compensation. We help ease the burden of your case so that you and your family can focus on recovery. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your options.
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