Medical Malpractice - Damages

There are two types of damages available in a negligence medical malpractice case, compensatory damages and punitive damages.

Compensatory damages

Compensatory damages are derived from the word “compensate,” meaning “to make up for” or “to make whole.” Generally, these damages can be broken up into two sub-categories actual damages and general damages. Actual damages seek to reimburse a plaintiff for out-of-pocket expenses incurred, or financial losses sustained.

Actual damages typically include:
- Medical and hospitalization bills incurred to treat your injuries
- Wages lost due to work missed while you recuperate
- Costs of household or nursing help during recovery, including costs of wheelchair or crutches required

As noted, injured victims can also sue for general damages in addition to actual damages. General damages include the things that can’t be precisely documented in dollars spent, including:
- Value of medical expenses you are likely to incur in the future
- Value of wages you are likely to lose in the future
- Disfigurement resulting from injuries
- Loss of consortium (benefits of a relationship)
- Loss of opportunity
- Permanency of injury and resulting pain and suffering
- Pain and suffering endured due to injuries and any subsequent mental anguish
- Punitive damages

In addition to compensatory damages, punitive damages may be awarded in certain cases. Punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant for gross incompetence, and are not based on actual injuries sustained. Punitive damages are awarded when a behavior is so egregious that a civil court penalty is warranted in order to deter the defendant from committing the same act again in the future.

Here is an example: Based on a true story, if a doctor delivers a woman’s baby and then makes a small incision on her torso signifying that he was responsible for her children, the woman should expect significant punitive damages to be awarded against the doctor.

If a doctor promises a particular result and then fails to obtain that result, the patient may have a successful case against the doctor. In these types of cases, it may be possible to recover damages from the doctor for the loss of the value of the successful treatment.

Damages are also available in cases where the plaintiff is able to prove that he or she was not provided with proper informed consent. The damages in such cases are different than in a typical negligence medical malpractice claim. If the doctor attempts to treat the patient without his or her consent, the doctor may be liable for the wrongful touching of the patient, regardless of whether the treatment was successful.