Louisville Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Overview of Medical Malpractice
A physician who deviates from the standard of care, either through an act or failure to act, is liable for medical malpractice. A physician is considered to have performed malpractice if another healthcare provider in the same field would have acted differently in similar circumstances. Even though there are no guarantees in medicine, a plaintiff has a valid malpractice claim if it can be shown that the doctor did not meet the expected level of care.
Once the healthcare provider’s failure to administer reasonable care is established, then the patient must show that harm was suffered. In Kentucky, the plaintiff must prove that the physician’s actions were a substantial factor in causing harm (known as the “substantial factor” test).
Types of Damages in a Medical Malpractice Case
In a medical malpractice case, the injured person will request a specific monetary award from a judge or jury. This award is compensation for any losses, known as damages. Damages can be either economic, non-economic, or punitive.
Economic damages are pecuniary losses that take money directly out of the victim’s checking account. These may include:
- Lost income
- Lost earning capacity
- Surgeries and treatments
- Physical therapy
- Home modifications
In contrast, non-economic damages are losses that are not easily quantifiable but impact the injured person’s life. These may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED)
- Loss of companionship
- Mental anguish
- Disfigurement and/or scarring
A third type, punitive damages, are awarded only if a doctor is grossly negligent or acts with willful or wanton misconduct. This means that the doctor’s actions were so obviously negligent that they acted with disregard for the patient’s safety or that they purposefully acted is such a manner that causing harm to the patient was foreseeable and expected..
