Medical malpractice
Was there a medical visit, hospitalization or surgery and did something unexpected and serious happen to you, a relative or a person you know?
Above all, you want to understand whether your doubt about having witnessed medical malpractice, medical liability or a medical error is correct or not. Now you would like to get help from a lawyer who has already handled a similar medical liability or medical malpractice case to yours.
Five things to do
1. The medical error must be established
The medical error must first of all be ascertained. It is not said that the doctor has actually made a mistake and that it is therefore a case of medical malpractice, his work must be verified.
2. Only a doctor can ascertain whether there is medical liability
The only person who will actually be able to tell you if that doctor made a mistake is another doctor, who will examine the medical documents and in particular the medical record and will tell you if it is actually possible to speak of medical liability following a medical error.
3. We have someone to help you
We have medical experts with whom we have been collaborating for several years who will be able to help you answer your questions, whether there is actually medical liability or in any case a doctor’s mistake for which you can obtain compensation for medical malpractice.
4. Ask for the medical record
Keep any medical records related to the medical malpractice case you want to clarify. We will also ask you to request the medical records relating to the operation carried out, to ascertain whether you have actually been the victim of a case of medical malpractice.
5. Call A.L. Assistenza Legale
Call A.L. Assistenza Legale at 345 3338510, we will take care of further obligations, resolve and answer all your immediate questions and give you all the assistance you need.
Who can claim damages for medical error
The person who suffered the medical error. The heirs of the person victim of medical malpractice (if this died due to medical liability) , the spouse, children (even young ones), parents, brothers and sisters. Cohabitants but also other relatives and in-laws grandparents, nephews, uncles, cousins, brothers-in-law, etc.
What damages can you claim in a medical malpractice case
The recoverable damages are substantially divided into PROPERTY DAMAGES and NON PROPERTY DAMAGES.
They are substantially those suitable for involving an economic loss consequent to medical liability. Financial damages are represented by anything that can generally be directly quantified and monetised. These damages therefore pertain to the assets and not to the person.
Financial damages resulting from a medical error are, for example:
- the loss of income from work, whether self-employed (also freelance) or clerical;
- medical expenses.
The financial damages caused by medical liability must all be assessed on the basis of certain documents, therefore:
- if the loss of income is requested, it will be necessary to produce the tax return or a document showing the work that had to be carried out;
- if reimbursement of medical expenses is requested, it will be necessary to produce all the proofs of the expenses incurred.
They are those damages caused by medical liability that do not directly cause an economic loss and therefore do not directly impact the assets of the person damaged by the medical error, they are those damages that generally cannot be quantified and monetised. These damages therefore pertain directly to the individual understood in a physical and moral sense and not to her assets.
For cases of medical malpractice, non-pecuniary damages can be:
Biological damage
Biological damage is the damage sustained by the physical integrity of the individual or by his body following a medical error, and is calculated on the basis of a score established by a coroner specialized in cases of medical malpractice.
Let’s imagine that the physical integrity of a person in perfect health is equal to 100 and that consequently losing one’s life is equivalent to losing 100% of one’s physical integrity, the more damage that person will suffer, the higher the percentage score will be. recognized following a case of medical liability.
The higher the percentage score that will be assigned by the coroner to the injured party, the higher the share of compensation for medical liability to which the latter will be entitled.
Moral damage
The moral damage is generally represented by the suffering suffered as a result of the physical injuries sustained due to medical liability.
The moral damage can also be requested by relatives, or in any case by those who have an emotional relationship with the victim of medical malpractice such as the cohabitant.
The moral damage is nothing more than a fraction of the biological damage which is quantified by the judge on the basis of indications provided by the lawyer specialized in medical liability.
The greater the physical damage, the greater the moral damage. To give an example, it is evident that the pain endured by a person who will lose the use of his legs following a case of medical malpractice will be higher than the suffering experienced by someone who will keep an ugly abdominal scar following a wrong operation without permanent after-effects.
For some Courts the moral damage is considered a single item, for others the moral damage can be broken down into different items, for example: existential damage.
The Courts have not yet expressed themselves definitively on the items that make up the moral damage.
Your trusted lawyer, evaluating your case, will be able to tell you what damages you can request for medical error, medical liability or medical malpractice.
Psychic damage
Psychic damage is an item that some consider to be included in moral damage, but which must instead be more correctly considered in biological damage.
The Psychic damage is that damage that the victim of a case of medical malpractice or a relative of his can request following a serious case, which causes damage to his psychic state and which can therefore be quantified by a psychiatrist, who will assign points as a percentage in a similar way to the biological damage.
What happens in the event of death
If the victim of the medical error dies, the DAMAGES BORNE BY THE DECEASED PERSON and DAMAGES BORNE BY THE HEIRS COEXIST.
In principle, the criterion of non-accumulation between the damages suffered by the deceased victim of medical malpractice and the damages suffered by his relatives is applied, it is therefore important to contact a lawyer of AL Assistance Legal in order to obtain the best indications regarding compensation for damages by mistake doctor to request, evaluating the individual case.
In general it can be said that the deceased person has the right to compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages caused by medical error or medical liability, these damages pass to the heirs.
The heirs (regardless of the damages that would be due to the deceased person, who we repeat pass as an inheritance), are in turn entitled to compensation for the moral damage deriving from the suffering suffered for having lost a loved one due to medical liability. Relatives of the deceased victim will also be able to request biological damage in the event that they have suffered psychic damage caused by the suffering suffered due to the loss suffered. The heirs will also be entitled to claim financial damages, in this case they must be able to prove the economic loss resulting from the death of the next relative due to medical error.
The damages suffered by the victim who passed away due to the medical error and those suffered by the heirs, must in any case be considered as a single damage, thus trying to avoid requesting any duplicates.
In this sense, your AL Legal Assistance lawyer will provide you with the best indications to be able to obtain the best compensation that you can obtain in cases of medical error, medical malpractice or medical liabilIty.
The damages incurred in these cases are for example:
Moral damages suffered by relatives of the victim of medical liability
As far as moral damages are concerned, in general the damages suffered by the close relatives of the victim of medical malpractice are considered due: by the spouse, by the children (even very young ones), by the parents, by the sisters and by the brothers.
With reference to more distant relatives: grandparents, uncles, cousins, nephews, brothers-in-law, etc., it is important to prove a relationship of affection and coexistence with the person who died due to medical liability. Different from both cases is that of the cohabitant for whom some precautions must be taken in defense.
Psychic or psychiatric damage suffered by the relatives of the victim of medical malpractice
Psychic damage is a category that someone includes in moral damage but it would be more correct to include it in biological damage.
Psychic damage is that damage that the injured party from medical error or a relative suffers following a serious harmful event, which causes an impairment of the subject’s psychic state and which therefore can be evaluated by a psychiatrist with percentage points exactly as damage biological.
Property damage suffered by relatives
The heirs of the victim of the medical error will also be able to claim the pecuniary damage derived from the income lost following the death of the close relative.
In the case of pecuniary damages due to relatives of the deceased following a medical error, the jurisprudence has not yet fully developed, even if reasons of equity impose a treatment similar to that established for road accidents.
Consider, for example, a young child deprived of the support generated by his father who died prematurely due to a case of medical malpractice in a single-income family, who will then be able to request compensation for the damages generated by the loss of economic income due to the loss of his father.
