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A Medical Malpractice Victim's Guide to Compensation in New York...Part 2

By Gerry Oginski

A verdict allows a victim to 'enter judgment' against the doctor or hospital for the amount that has been awarded. In addition to the award, interest will be added to the award for past pain and suffering from the time of the malpractice until the date of the verdict.

Once a judgment is entered, the attorney can make every effort to collect against the doctor, hospital or its' insurance company.

Elements of compensation:

1. Pain & suffering
2. Economic loss
(a) Medical & hospital bills
(b) Lost wages
(c) Lost future income
(d) Lost benefits
(e) Lost future benefits
(f) Future medical expenses, including doctors, hospitals, surgery, rehabilitation, medical insurance premiums, nursing, medications & medical equipment.

Pain & Suffering

A settlement for pain and suffering is based on what other similar cases have settled for. Many times your lawyer can determine what 5 days of suffering is worth in the County in which you have your case. They can try and find similar cases and injuries to what you experienced to get a sense of the value of your particular case.

Having said that, it's important to note that every case is different, and every person who suffers an injury handles it differently. That's why there's such great fluctuation between similar cases, especially in different parts of the State. A jury in upstate Albany County may view a fractured arm as having a lower value than a jury in Manhattan or the Bronx.
Importantly, pain and suffering awards are tax-free in New York.

Economic Loss

This is an element of 'damages' that is readily calculated. If the victim was working, we can piece together what they were earning at the time of the malpractice, and then project forward what they likely would have earned in the future had they not suffered such horrible injuries.

In order to help a jury understand the value of money, medical malpractice lawyers will often hire economists, experts at evaluating and discussing the value of money. We all know that the value of a dollar 20 years ago was much different than it is today. That's known as inflation. An expert economist is brought in to explain to a jury that a dollar today will not buy the same things 10, 15, 20 and even 30 years from today. That is why when we ask a jury to make an award today, they must recognize that this award will be used to help pay for medical expenses for the rest of that victims' life. If an award is made to pay for something that costs $100 dollars today, in 15 years that same $100 will not be able to buy the medical device that he used to buy it 15 years earlier. it would not be fair to the victim or his family to dig into their own pockets to pay for those expenses, especially when they did nothing to contribute to the victim's injuries. It should be the total responsibility of the person who caused the harm.

To determine what medical expenses are likely to be incurred in the future, medical specialists are brought in to discuss the victim's injuries and what they can expect to happen in the future. We often include rehabilitation experts, and vocational experts to explain what type of employment this handicapped individual might be capable of doing in the future, and what kind of income they could ever be expected to earn.

Conclusion

These are the basics to understanding how a medical malpractice victim obtains full and fair compensation in the State of New York.

Full post as published by New York Medical Malpractice Blog on November 15, 2007 (boomark / email).