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What is the Average Settlement for a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

Updated

4/21/2021

Table Of Contents

Since medical malpractice covers such a wide variety of injuries and scenarios, there is no average settlement amount for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Furthermore, many individual factors can affect a settlement’s amount, such as the injury’s permanence and impact on your job and whether your case settles out of court.

average medical malpractice settlement

What Is Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice includes surgical errors, failure to diagnose, and other departures. When thinking about your malpractice case, remember that it is a  personal injury with losses. Malpractice is then subcategorized into different types, each with its own area.

As a result, when trying to visualize what you may obtain from a medical malpractice lawsuit, you need to first consider what kind of malpractice you suffered. Our team can then help determine how your case fits into that area.

Damages are unique to the malpractice type

Among the acts of negligence that comprise medical malpractice are:

  • Birth injuries
  • Failure to properly monitor a pregnancy
  • Surgical mistakes
  • Failure to diagnose cancer
  • Failure to properly interpret diagnostic tests
  • Medication dosage errors
  • Wrong prescriptions
  • Birth injuries
  • Misdiagnosis
  • Wrongful Death

These types of malpractice even have their own subcategories that may be a special field of litigation. Thus, your settlement will depend on the damages from your malpractice.

Damages are unique to your circumstances

How an act of medical negligence impacts your damages will depend upon your unique situation.   You are unique, from your medical background to your job. For this reason, no two cases are alike.  Children who suffer from birth injuries will require special care and medical treatment thus resulting in additional types of monetary damages.

For example, if your injury affected your ability to stand for long periods, and you had a job that required standing, you likely lost income. By contrast, someone with the same injury but a sedentary job may not have lost the same wages. Your compensation in that area, then, might be higher.  Certain victims of medical malpractice may require full-time assistance to help them get through the day.

Some other personal factors that may influence your settlement are:

  • Age
  • General Health
  • Post-Malpractice physical condition
  • Pre-existing conditions
  • Family history
  • Medications
  • Type of job
  • Dependents

Settlements take those aspects into account when calculating what your case is worth.

Our team can calculate a fair value for your case

Our medical malpractice lawyers at Oresky & Associates, PLLC, and co-counsel can look at that context to seek an appropriate settlement. Our clients testify to our commitment to individual attention:

  • “Jacob met personally with me and explained everything. Mr. Oresky prepared me all the way. He even would talk to me at night and on the weekend.”
  • “I really appreciated all of the personal attention I received.”
  • “The attorney Jacob Oresky prepared me personally to testify on my case.”

Other factors that influence your settlement amount

The amount of damages you may receive is dependent on your individual background and the circumstances of the malpractice and the lawsuit negotiation. Possible variables include:

  • Injury severity and permanence
  • Recovery and prognosis
  • Economic losses
  • Impact on quality of life
  • Settling or going to trial

A surgical error that caused a temporary injury may receive a lower settlement than one that caused a permanent injury. Calculating your pain and suffering can also be a substantial process. We don’t settle for a one-size-fits-all approach to damages. We tailor our pursuit of a settlement to your experience.

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Past and future expenses

Calculating some of these variables usually involves consulting experts who provide an idea of an injury’s impact personally and financially. Our team can utilize:

  • Doctors
  • Researchers
  • Actuaries
  • Economists

Their input can help us arrive at an amount that covers both the price you already paid for the medical malpractice and the losses you may experience later.

Settling out of court or proceeding to trial

Your settlement amount may depend on how quickly you want to conclude your case and how amenable the other party is. Settling out of court may result in a lower amount but allow you to arrive at a number on your terms. Proceeding to trial may yield a higher award of damages but is dictated by a judge or jury.