Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are tasked with important life saving roles. They must provide adequate care that is as effective and efficient as possible without causing harm. With so much unknown information about certain medical conditions, these medical professionals are educated and trained in how to rule out conditions to narrow the field and treat accordingly. By ruling out other medical conditions, doctors can order tests that detect the true cause of a patient’s symptoms. Other times these professionals are just expected to provide appropriate treatment for an already identified condition. Yet, far too often medical professionals fail to live up to the applicable standard of care that they owe their patients, which can lead to innocent individuals suffering extensive harm.
This happened to one Bronx grandmother who suffered a serious brain injury caused by a build up of carbon dioxide, leaving her with speech and motor disabilities. The woman presented to the hospital during an asthma attack, but doctors failed to transfer her to a hospital that was capable of removing the carbon dioxide. The incident left her in the hospital and then a nursing home for almost a year while she tried to recover, but the sad reality is that she won’t fully recover from her condition.
The woman filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctors who treated her and the hospital that employs them. A jury found in her favor, awarding her $110 million. While this type of award isn’t typical, it does show the full extent of harm that can be caused to a medical malpractice victim. When considering the amount of compensation to award to a victim, a jury will consider a number of factors including medical expenses incurred, expected medical and rehabilitation costs, lost wages and pain and suffering.
An attorney who is skilled in medical malpractice cases will know how to effective apply the law to the facts at hand to build a compelling case for the imposition of liability and the awarding of compensation. To get a clearer sense of the strength of one’s case, though, it may be best to reach out to one of these legal professionals prior to moving forward with a claim.