If you feel a physician has been negligent or committed malpractice with malice, then you have a medical malpractice claim on your hands and you can win compensation. However, you might be wondering if you’ll win more or less if you work with a medical malpractice attorney. The answer is more. You’ll always get a bigger settlement when you have a professional working by your side to do everything they can to increase the value of your claim.
4 Reasons You’ll Win More When Working with a Medical Malpractice Attorney
1. They Know What You Can Claim
If you’re dealing with your malpractice lawsuit by yourself, then you may not know exactly what you can claim compensation for. You probably know that you can get some money for pain and suffering, and you’re likely aware that you can be reimbursed for your medical treatments. However, there are various economic and non-economic damages that you can win depending on your case. These will be discussed in detail later on.
2. They Know How to Negotiate
You may think of yourself as a decent negotiator, but your skills are nothing compared to those of a top Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer. These attorneys talk to insurance companies all the time, and they know exactly what kind of moves an insurance company will make to try and get you to accept a lower offer.
Your attorney won’t rest until they’ve fully laid out your case to prove you’re entitled to the settlement you’re seeking. Your attorney may encourage you to take a slightly lower settlement than the one you initially sought after. However, rest assured it’s still going to be a much higher settlement than you’d have settled for without your attorney’s input.
3. They Know How to Value Your Damages
You can’t just make up random numbers and assume they’re sufficient when it comes to your damages. Some costs, like the cost of your medical treatments, will be easy to calculate, but there are specific ways that your attorney must calculate how much you are entitled to in pain and suffering for your emotional distress.
There are also methods they used to determine how much you’re entitled to based on lost income, future medical costs, and more. If you go in with numbers that don’t seem correct to an insurance company, then they won’t take you seriously, and they’ll take advantage of your lack of knowledge in the situation. You might walk away with a much lower settlement than you’re actually entitled to.
4. They Have Expert Contacts
Sometimes you need to contact another physician and have a medical assessment. This party must be completely unbiased, and they must also have expertise in the medical field. Your attorney will likely know somebody who can give you the assessment and testify that your injuries or illness came as a result of negligence.
Your attorney may also need to contact experts in specific medical fields, in certain areas of investigation, and more. Attorneys have a vast network of people they’ve worked with in the past, so they can easily contact the right people to help you build and win your case.
What Damages Can I Claim for?
1. Medical Damages
It’s obvious that you can claim back the money you spent on your treatment. However, you might need treatment for the foreseeable future based on the injuries you were left with after the malpractice. You can also be compensated for the estimated cost of these future medical treatments. These treatments include medication, physical therapy, medical aids, and more, depending on your situation.
3. Emotional Damages
If you’ve been left with a lifelong disability, then your settlement for your emotional damages is going to be large. Sometimes settlements can be as high as a couple of million dollars due to the emotional damages you’ve suffered.
How much you can win varies based on your injuries. Somebody left with an achy hip for the rest of their life will be awarded less than somebody who’s suffered paralysis as a result of malpractice.
3. Income Damages
If your injury or illness has forced you to take time off work, then you can be compensated for the income you would have earned during the time you should have been working. If you have to take off time from work to heal further, or if you’ll never be able to work again, then you can be compensated based on the income you would have earned in the time you won’t be working.
Always consult an attorney when dealing with matters of the law. Your case may seem simple, but you’re not a professional. Cases are always more complex than they seem on the surface, and a medical malpractice lawyer will recognize that. A lawyer will be able to win you a settlement that covers all of your damages, and they’ll ensure you feel justice has been served.