What's your doctor malpractice case worth?

Everyone who's considered bringing a doctor malpractice lawsuit has asked this very basic question. How much is my doctor malpractice case worth?

Nobody wants to go through a full-blown medical or doctor malpractice lawsuit for a meager settlement, that's why it is important to have an idea before hand how much bringing an action for doctor malpractice will cost you, and how much settlement you're likely going to get.

You will have to consider a lot of things. Some of them may even be difficult to quantify. Take for example Pain and Suffering, how are you going to calculate those?

This is actually a very complicated matter. The worth of a medical or doctor malpractice lawsuit will depend on several factors that include jurisdiction, severity of damage or injury as well as pre-existing conditions.

Now let's examine each of these factors one by one.

Jurisdiction. This pertains to where the injury or doctor malpractice occurred. This can sometimes have as much weight as to the amount of settlement or damages you can collect as the injury itself. The rules pertaining to unprofessional conduct as well as doctor liability differ from one state to another. Your medical lawyer or medical attorney will help you establish the venue as well as jurisdiction of your case. Also your medical attorney will advise you on whether or not your state places limitations on your potential medical or doctor malpractice settlement or damage award.

Potential state caps. Since states usually are responsible for medical or doctor malpractice issues, a lot of states have placed limits on doctor malpractice damages as a bar to false claims. This often means taking the amount available to an injured person through “collateral sources” such as health insurance out of the settlement, limiting the payment of damages to installment plans instead of lump-sum payments, and capping damages altogether. See a medical attorney within the jurisdiction where the doctor malpractice happened to find out if there are caps on what you can claim as regards your medical or doctor malpractice case.

Severity of injury. You've heard about insurance companies attributing rising premiums to increases in claims of injury severity. When we talk about severity, we mean the extent to which you a person has been injured. Cleary a bone that's cleanly broken and requires a cast, for example, is less severe an injury compared to the same bone shattered in several different places, which will require surgery and extensive rehabilitation. Simply put, the more severe the injury the greater the damages or settlement.

Pre-existing conditions: It is generally harder to get a large settlement award for an injury on top of a pre-existing one. If, for example, you had knee surgery several years ago, it may not be easy to get a large amount in damages or settlement for a doctor malpractice case involving a previously injured knee.

Tell your medical attorney or medical lawyer about your pre-existing conditions, if any. The opposing party can and will capitalize on any pre-existing condition related to your doctor malpractice claim, so it is best to be completely honest about it with your medical lawyer. This will enable your medical attorney to make a thorough assessment about the overall strength of your case.

An experienced medical lawyer will be able to analyze the unique circumstances surrounding your doctor malpractice claim. There is a lot of gray area in the realm of medical or doctor malpractice. Your medical attorney will explain to you how much your case is worth. A competent medical lawyer should also be completely honest with you and inform you whether you should consider abandoning a potentially stressful and expensive litigation altogether.