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If you have been severely injured or contracted a severe illness because of misconduct by a medical professional, you unfortunately know how painful this sort of negligence is in physical, psychological, and financial terms. You also may have many questions about your legal rights when it comes to holding negligent healthcare providers liable for the harm their actions have caused you, as well as what kind of financial restitution you could reasonably expect from such a claim.

Every medical malpractice lawsuit is unique, so what qualifies as fair recovery for you may be different from what might be seen as just for another person injured under different, or even identical, circumstances. With that in mind, here are some critical elements of the malpractice litigation process that could impact how much you can sue for medical malpractice in Pennsylvania.

Recovering for Short-Term and Long-Term Losses

The main factor determining the value of a medical malpractice claim in Pennsylvania is the specific damages that the injured person can prove they have experienced or likely will experience in the future as a direct result of their doctor’s misconduct. It is worth emphasizing that when it comes to damages an injured person will experience in the future, it is possible—and often vital—to account for damages that will not manifest fully or may not manifest at all until decades after the legal process ends.

On the economic side, this means getting a comprehensive understanding of the long-term health consequences of the injuries or illness caused by the malpractice in question and then calculating in advance the costs of details like future medical and rehabilitative treatment, in-home assistance, and other disability-related expenses and lost working and earning capacity. Non-economic damages can be trickier to assign quantitative values to, but a skilled legal professional can help demand fair compensation for things like physical pain and psychological harm based on damage awards for these sorts of damages in similar past cases.

Are There Caps on Medical Malpractice Damages?

In many places around the United States, state law places a cap on the total compensation that a person pursuing a medical malpractice claim can demand for their damages, usually because of lobbying by healthcare professionals and insurance providers to minimize their liability for injuries. Usually, these caps restrict the amount of money an injured person may seek specifically for non-economic damages, but sometimes, caps apply to recovery for both economic and non-economic damages.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states that imposes no caps on recovery for economic or non-economic damages caused by medical malpractice. There are caps under state law on the amount of punitive damages a court can impose against a physician or healthcare organization, but these damages only come up rarely in situations involving extremely egregious negligence or intentionally malicious misconduct.

Assistance from Legal Counsel in Pennsylvania Can Help Maximize Your Recovery from Medical Malpractice

When maximizing the amount of money you can sue for medical malpractice in Pennsylvania, it is crucial to have help from experienced legal representation. Beyond just helping to identify and estimate a fair value for your damages, your malpractice lawyer can also assist you in navigating various legal and procedural pitfalls that could otherwise get in the way of you getting paid fairly for your damages.

Call our diligent attorneys at Lowenthal & Abrams today to learn more about your legal options during an initial consultation.