How Much Is My Medical Malpractice Claim Worth?

 Posted on June 15, 2020 in Medical Malpractice

If you recently sought medical advice or treatment and your condition worsened, or if you underwent a surgical procedure and suffered an injury, you may be wondering whether you are eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit and how much your claim could be worth. Most issues pertaining to medical malpractice lawsuits, also known as medical negligence claims, are governed by  Illinois statutes. While it can be difficult to say with certainty whether you have a valid medical malpractice claim and how much it could be worth until you speak with an experienced Winnebago County medical malpractice lawyer, the following are some questions you can ask yourself to help you determine whether you may be eligible to file a lawsuit and how much compensation you could be entitled to receive.

Was Your Injury the Result of a Healthcare Provider’s Negligence?

The first question you will need to ask yourself when you are trying to determine how much your claim is worth is whether you have a legitimate medical negligence lawsuit. It is extremely important to understand that not all injuries from medical procedures are the result of negligence. To be clear, some types of procedures and surgeries come with inherent risks, and a healthcare provider must make sure that a patient understands and agrees to those risks ahead of time.

However, when a healthcare provider makes a mistake or is otherwise negligent, the patient may have a medical malpractice claim. In general, negligence means that your healthcare provider did not provide the same level of care that another provider in the same medical field and geographic region would believe was reasonable.

What Losses Have You Experienced As a Result of Your Injury?

Damages awards are based on the losses you have suffered. In medical malpractice cases, injured patients typically seek both economic and non-economic damages, which are both types of “compensatory” damages. In other words, those damages are designed to compensate you for the losses you have experienced.

Some of your losses will be easy to quantify because they will be linked to an objective dollar figure. For example, you may owe $100,000 in hospital bills, and you may have experienced $25,000 in lost wages. You also may be able to estimate the amount of future lost wages based on your earnings prior to the injury. However, other non-economic losses can be more difficult to quantify, such as pain and suffering. Your medical malpractice lawyer can discuss potential amounts of compensation for non-economic injuries.

Contact a Rockford Medical Malpractice Lawyer for Assistance

Suffering an injury after seeking help from a healthcare provider can be devastating. In situations where a healthcare provider’s negligence resulted in your injury, you could be eligible to file a medical malpractice claim. It is important to seek advice from an experienced Rockland medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible.

Under Illinois law, you will only have two years from the date you discovered the injury (or reasonably should have discovered the injury) to file your claim for financial compensation. Our dedicated Winnebago County medical malpractice lawyers can help. Contact Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, for more information about the services we provide to injured plaintiffs and their families in Illinois.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=073500050K2-622