Those who undergo medical treatment in Michigan typically expect to receive proper and professional care. Modern healthcare facilities have tests capable of pinpointing brain injuries and genetically sequencing cancer.
Therefore, there is an expectation that healthcare professionals can quickly diagnose someone and provide treatment suggestions that can resolve someone’s symptoms or at least help manage them. Unfortunately, some people do not receive appropriate and professional healthcare support when they go to the hospital or make an appointment with their primary care physicians.
Sometimes doctors are negligent. They rush to diagnostic conclusions and fail to follow the right protocol for the treatment of their patients. When there is clear proof that a doctor did something wrong and that their actions caused harm to a patient, the patient involved might file a medical malpractice lawsuit. The following damages are typically available as part of a medical malpractice lawsuit in Michigan.
Additional medical expenses
One of the most common compensation requests in medical malpractice lawsuits reflects the cost of additional care required because a doctor failed when treating a patient. Whether someone required revision surgery or spent weeks in the hospital because of a physician’s mistakes, medical expenses incurred as a direct result of a doctor’s negligence or unprofessional care can contribute substantially to the final value of a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Lost wages and household services
Someone struggling with major medical challenges because of a malpractice issue may go weeks without returning to work. In some cases, their symptoms could be significant enough to prevent them from working at all. Lost wages can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on someone’s age and profession at the time of the malpractice incident. Debilitating injuries and lingering symptoms can also affect someone’s ability to handle household responsibilities. If someone can no longer cook, clean or take care of their children, the cost of outsourcing that labor could contribute to the damages sought in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Non-economic and exemplary damages
Michigan law allows the courts to order exemplary damages in rare circumstances. Particularly egregious cases of malpractice where plaintiffs can allege it will full disregard for one’s rights or malicious conduct might lead to the courts awarding exemplary damages. The courts can also award non-economic damages, although there are strict caps depending on the severity of the injury incurred because of the malpractice. Those hoping to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit in Michigan often need help determining how much compensation they should pursue.
Establishing the financial impact that malpractice has on a family is an important starting point when seeking to take legal action in the wake of harm caused by medical malpractice.