Pain and suffering is one type of compensation that you can recover in a medical malpractice case. The compensation is for the physical and mental pain that you experienced because of a medical provider’s error or other form of negligence. If you suffered an injury because of a physician’s malpractice, it is critical to contact an experienced personal injury attorney now for help.
What is Pain and Suffering?
Pain and suffering refers to one category of damages that you can ask for in personal injury cases, including medical malpractice cases. In particular, a judge or jury awards you pain and suffering to compensate for your physical and mental pain. Physical pain is pain from actual physical injuries. Mental pain is generally described as any negative emotion that an injured person experiences because of an accident’s physical pain and trauma.
Mental pain and suffering can include:
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Fear
- Humiliation, and
- Anxiety
How is it Calculated?
Unfortunately, there are no universal laws, calculators, guidelines, or instructions to determine how much you should receive for your pain and suffering after an act of malpractice. With that said, however, lawyers and insurance companies usually rely on a multiplier method to calculate these damages. Per this method, you first add together all of your economic damages in a case (for example, medical expenses, lost wages, and future lost earnings). You then multiply this total by a number between one and five.
If you suffered only mild injuries, a lower multiplier would likely apply to your compensation. If you suffered severe injuries, you could use a higher multiplier. The most common multiplier is 1.5.
What Other Damages Can I Receive?
If you are successful in bringing a medical malpractice action, you can receive payment for pain and suffering as well as other forms of damages. For example, you can receive compensation for:
- Medical bills and medical expenses,
- Home health medical care,
- Physical and occupational therapy,
- Lost wages,
- Lost earning capacity, and
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
Do Damage Caps apply?
Please note that unlike many states, Washington has no limits, or caps, on the amount of damages that you can recover in a medical malpractice case. The result is that, if you win your case, you can collect whatever amount of money the jury awards you for your losses. This is true unless the judge or a higher court reduces the award.
Contact Otorowski Morrow & Golden, PLLC
Please know that our firm is here to help if you were injured due to a medical provider’s malpractice. Otorowski Morrow & Golden, PLLC provides free consultations to all our potential clients. The attorneys at our law firm also have over 120 years of combined experience representing injured parties in medical malpractice cases. They never back down to insurers and fight for their clients’ interests every step of the way. Do yourself a favor and contact them now for the quality legal representation you deserve.