Florida’s hospitals are often understaffed, and medical mistakes do occur. When treated by hospital staff, we expect them to deliver the quality of care to heal us and not to cause any harm. Unfortunately, hospital negligence has affected the lives of many. Calculating what their damages are can be tricky. Without a good legal team on your side, victims could be left facing many financial hardships.
If you’ve been the victim of a hospital mishap that has caused you harm, contact the best hospital negligence lawyers in Miami. During a free consultation, they help you create a plan that provides accountability and compensation.
How To Calculate Damages in a Hospital Negligence Lawsuit
When a victim of hospital negligence files a medical malpractice lawsuit, they are usually interested in knowing the value of their case. Hopefully, they’ll receive compensation during a pretrial settlement or by a judge and jury if the case goes to trial. Although each hospital negligence lawsuit has its own special circumstances and nuances, your personal injury attorney can help you calculate what the estimated amount could be.
When seeking the recovery of damages in a hospital negligence case, your medical malpractice attorney will determine your hardships, the severity of your condition, and the best method to recover them. Damages for a case like this are placed into economic and non-economic categories.
Economic Damages in a Hospital Negligence Case
Economic damages are those that are fairly easy to quantify and are those that are difficult for the defendant’s legal team to challenge. These are the things that have a direct economic impact on the victim. Common economic damages for a hospital negligence case include:
- Current and expected medical bills include past, present, and future medical bills. It includes all past or expected surgeries, lab tests, and rehabilitation services. These expenses could be for both physical and emotional health conditions.
- Current and future lost wages and benefits – You can claim any past, current, or future expected lost wages, benefits, commissions, and pension payments.
- Medication and assistive devices – The cost of any assistive devices required due to your medical injury can be recovered. This includes wheelchairs or any home modifications to assist mobility.
These types of damages are easily calculated and are the easiest ones to recover.
Non-Economic Damages in a Hospital Negligence Case
Non-economic damages in a medical malpractice hospital negligence case are more difficult to define. They are the ones that are most often challenged by the defendant’s legal team. They’re not based on an out-of-pocket financial hardship but on the emotional aspects of the victim’s condition and quality of life. Non-economic damages can include:
- Pain and suffering – Here, we talk about both physical and mental pain. Your legal team will place a monetary amount based on the physical or emotional pain you must cope with.
- Mental anguish – Mental anguish is having significant emotional difficulties due to hospital negligence and the injuries it caused. PTSD, depression, and severe anxiety are good examples of mental anguish.
- Scarring and disfigurement – Amputations or severe scarring can change a victim’s life forever and cause self-esteem or relationship problems.
- Loss of quality of life – This non-economic damage seeks to place a monetary amount on how the victim’s life has been permanently altered. This can include loss of sexual function, inability to participate in previously enjoyed activities, loss of consortium, and an inability to perform basic daily tasks.
Non-economic damages are typically determined due to the severity and seriousness of the victim’s condition. Their legal team will use what’s known as a non-economic multiplier, a number between 2 and 5, as a basis for how severe the victim’s condition is. Each non-economic damage that a monetary amount is determined would be multiplied by the non-economic multiplier.
Calculating Damages in a Hospital Negligence Lawsuit Explained
No hospital patient should suffer due to a negligent act that causes them more harm than they had when they were admitted. Unfortunately, medical mishaps and errors do occur. Fortunately, Floridians who’ve suffered unnecessarily in a hospital can file a lawsuit to recover compensations and to hold the appropriate staff accountable.
If you’ve been the victim of hospital negligence, having an experienced legal team on your side is imperative. Fighting for compensation from a hospital due to a negligent act requires the know-how of a team of attorneys who’ve handled similar cases. Don’t suffer in silence. Speak to a hospital negligence lawyer today.
