How Much Can I Claim for a Death Caused by Medical Negligence?

There is no way to fill the void left behind when you lose someone you love to medical negligence. However, the financial recovery available through the civil court allows you the ability to grieve without added stress. The amount and type of compensation vary from case to case depending on the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s death. The first step in understanding the amount you can claim for wrongful death is to speak to a personal injury attorney.

How Do You Value a Wrongful Death Claim?

How much you can claim for a death caused by medical negligence depends on the damages available in your case. To understand your claim’s value, you must identify all the compensatory damages. These include the economic and non-economic losses available, and you will need to provide evidence to support them. In cases with rare circumstances, you may also receive an award for punitive damages.

Economic Damages

The economic damages in a wrongful death case include the value of financial losses the victim incurred while alive and the contributions that could have been made to survivors if they had lived. Some examples include:

• The cost of medical care needed to treat their injuries
• The cost of funeral expenses, including burial or cremation
• The value of all goods and services the deceased provided to the family and household
• The loss of the deceased person’s expected income
• The loss of benefits the deceased provided, such as healthcare insurance, retirement contributions, or pension
• The loss of inheritance the surviving family could have received from the deceased

The factors that affect these damages include the plaintiff’s relationship with the deceased and the deceased person’s financial status. In claims involving medical malpractice, some states even place caps on the amount of damages you can receive, especially non-economic damages.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages in wrongful death cases are often more valuable than economic damages, given the devastating impact untimely death can have on surviving loved ones. You have the right to claim compensation for the mental and emotional anguish caused by the pain and suffering of losing someone you love to another party’s negligence. For example, you can claim the loss of protection, advice, nurturing, love, care, society, companionship, and guidance the deceased provided before death. If the person you lost was your spouse, you could claim loss of consortium. Assigning financial value to these claims can be complex. Thankfully, a personal injury attorney has experience with wrongful death cases and can help you determine a monetary value for the pain you endured.

Punitive Damages

In rare cases, the court may award punitive damages as a punishment for the defendant’s actions. Some states eliminate the possibility of punitive damages in wrongful death cases. However, many states allow something akin to punitive damages in cases of wrongful death caused by elder abuse in nursing homes.

What Are Some Common Examples of Medical Malpractice?

Proving medical negligence is one of the most challenging aspects of personal injury law. The first step in providing evidence for a wrongful death claim due to medical malpractice is to identify the type of malpractice and link it directly to the person’s death. Some common types of medical negligence that could cause the death of a patient include:

• Failing to warn the patient of known risks. Before performing a procedure or prescribing a treatment, doctors are responsible for explaining the potential risks. This is a duty owed to the patient, allowing them to make decisions and provide informed consent. If you can prove the doctor failed to provide a patient with information that likely would have resulted in them deciding not to go ahead with treatment, you could prove negligence.
• Failing to diagnose. If you can prove a competent doctor would have recognized your loved one’s illness and provided a diagnosis and treatment with a better outcome, failure to diagnose is a viable claim.
• Providing improper treatment. Improperly treating a condition could result in the patient’s untimely death. There are two approaches to improper treatment: providing the wrong type of treatment and incompetently administering the correct type of treatment.
• Causing injury to the baby or mother during birth. Birth-related injuries and deaths are among the most common types of medical malpractice. Examples may include failing to treat bleeding or severe tearing or failing to perform a medically necessary cesarean section. Injuring the baby during birth could also result in death.

To build a viable wrongful death claim against a healthcare entity, you need substantial evidence to support malpractice. Additionally, you must be someone who can lawfully file a wrongful death claim.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Not everyone can file a wrongful death suit. The state mandates who is eligible for damages following someone’s wrongful death, and nearly every state allows the surviving spouse, children, or parents of the deceased to file. In most cases, the executor of the deceased person’s estate can file a wrongful death claim. Any damages recovered in a lawsuit filed by an estate representative will go to the surviving family members of the deceased.

In Utah, surviving children or parents also refer to adoptive children or parents, and stepchildren under 18 may file if they were financially dependent on their stepparent at the time of death. Utah also allows other blood relatives, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings, to file a wrongful death claim if none of those mentioned earlier persons survive the deceased.

How Can a Wrongful Death/Medical Malpractice Lawyer Help You?

Wrongful death cases can be challenging to prove, particularly when dealing with medical negligence. Additionally, the statute of limitations in most states only allows the family one year to file a claim, placing added strain on an emotionally difficult situation. However, if you lost a family member because of a medical professional or facility’s negligence, a personal injury attorney can help you build a case that supports your fault claim and the damages owed to you.

While you face the pain of grieving your loss, your attorney will take care of all the required paperwork, investigate the incident, and collect the evidence needed to support your claim. They also represent you in all conversations with the insurance company and identify professionals who can provide expert testimony for your case. Unfortunately, for someone with little or no experience in personal injury law, a wrongful death case involving medical malpractice can be far too challenging to win.

When Should You Schedule a Free Consultation With a Lawyer?

As you face the devastating aftermath of losing someone you love unexpectedly, you should also have someone on your side seeking justice and ensuring you do not have to endure financial struggles as well. At Fielding Law, we know you cannot put a dollar amount on the life of a loved one. However, you can hold the at-fault party responsible and grieve that loss without the burden of financial difficulties. Our team is dedicated to helping our clients through this challenging time by offering our aggressive legal representation and compassionate support. Avoid waiting too late to file a claim, and contact Fielding Law today for a free consultation. Fill out an online case evaluation form or call us at (877) 880-4090. You have nothing to lose and plenty to gain.