The word has gotten out that doctors, like the rest of us, are fallible and that it may not prudent to take the word of just one doctor when accepting a diagnosing of an illness or recommending a program of treatment. Statistics show that medical malpractice in all of its forms is one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States. Pursuing a medical malpractice claim is emotionally difficult especially for someone who has placed their trust and confidence and has a relationship with their doctor. Nonetheless, a medical professional’s medical malpractice could ruin your career and prevent you from being able to pursue your dreams and goals in life. If you have been the victim of medical malpractice, you should consider seeking compensation for monetary and possibly punitive damages you have endured. If you have suffered from medical malpractice you should know in advance what you may be suing for.
Monetary Damages (Economic and Non-Economic)
Monetary damages are the first category that a person can seek to be reimbursed for past expenses and obtain a sum of money for future treatments. A person suing their doctor or other medical care professional has the burden of proving that monetary damages resulted directly from the injury. The types of monetary damage that you may have suffered are medical costs, loss of income, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages seek to punish the defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit and to deter the defendant from repeating the behavior in the future. A typical example of punitive damages is when a retired person on a fixed income dies from cigarette smoking. Although the monetary damages of replacing the retirement income might be small, the jury might find punitive damages in the millions of dollars to try and deter the cigarette company from selling their product.
Other Oregon Medical Malpractice Facts
Statute of limitations for these types of claims can be tricky. In the state of Oregon, you may have up to 5 years total from the actual date of your injury to file a medical malpractice suit or two years since the time that you discovered your injury. Many times determining how much time you have to file requires legal analysis of your specific facts so having an attorney involved early is critical.
You are able to sue a clinic even though it may be a “free clinic”. And of course, medical care practitioners like doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals, clinics, EMT staff all can be found guilty of medical negligence and sued.
The Oregon medical malpractice law firm of Shlesinger & deVilleneuve have been practicing medical malpractice law since for over 40 years. Our firm has been successful in obtaining compensation for more than 95% of our injured clients At Shlesinger & deVilleneuve, our client’s welfare comes first – we accept no fee for helping you unless we win for you!
