Medical malpractice often results in patients spending more than they anticipated for due to their injuries. Some of these injuries are life-threatening to the point that the patient loses the enjoyment of life. Generally, when a patient loses the enjoyment of life because a doctor or a hospital was negligent enough to cause them added injuries, this may amount to a claim.
What Is Loss Of Enjoyment In A Medical Malpractice Case?
Loss of enjoyment in a medical malpractice case refers to how a patient suffers an injury that limits them from enjoying certain activities before the medical malpractice happened. For instance, a patient’s disease may have been misdiagnosed, and if the treatment is delayed affecting the patient’s limbs, arms, or legs, this may affect the patient’s life enjoyment.
Loss of enjoyment in medical malpractice is not limited; it?s broad. Meaning, one may not necessarily suffer because their injuries worsened; a patient can experience of loss of enjoyment after getting depressed by how they will carry on with life due to the prolonged healing process thus lack interest in their hobbies. Loss of enjoyment of life can either emanate from neurological or physical issues. If you think your medical malpractice resulted in the loss of enjoyment, you can contact attorneys in Wasilla Ak to evaluate your claim. Some of the enjoyment of life includes:
- Traveling
- Fun time with family
- Hobbies such as fishing
To collect the right damages, a patient who has been subjected to medical malpractice must have the right evidence to show. This is not easy; one may be required to get medical experts to explain how medical malpractice may have led to enjoyment loss.
How To Prove Loss Of Enjoyment
To get the right amount of damages to be awarded, the court is interested in several factors. Here are some of the ways used to determine damages to be allocated to a plaintiff:
- The age of the patient
- How severe the injuries were
- The patient?s educational background or work history
- How the injury is likely to affect their future. That is how many years the patient will suffer due to loss of enjoyment. A young plaintiff may stand a good chance to receive better awards compared to an old plaintiff.
Getting loss of enjoyment damages largely depends on how you will give your testimony. You have to show or tell the court of the many activities you enjoyed before the medical malpractice happened. You may also testify how the medical error resulted in preventing you from enjoying those activities. Besides giving your own testimony, medical experts can vouch for a version of how the medical malpractice could have affected your life. Without a medical expert in your case, the judge may not see any sense in your case and may dismiss it or even decide it too early. Thus, the judge must use the expert?s opinion to consider facts. A medical expert can prove how:
- A competent doctor would have acted to prevent the medical error from happening. He/she can do this by providing an opinion on whether the doctor in question used a standard of care.
- How the medial error resulted in injuries that lead to loss of enjoyment of life. The negligence doctor must have failed to live to the expected standard of care. The expert must explain to the jury how the injury caused lead to the loss of enjoyment of life.
??It is advisable to get a medical expert as soon as possible. But since states have a different opinion on who may become a medical expert opinion, one may seek legal help from a medical malpractice lawyer to understand how to go about the case.
Get An Attorney Help
While many people assume that loss of enjoyment is the same as pain and suffering, this may not be the case. You may have pain and suffering without having a loss of enjoyment of life. However, in some cases, damages to receive may be added to your pain and suffering. Just in any other personal injury claim, you must prove that a doctor or hospital was negligent enough to cause your loss of enjoyment of life.If you are wondering about the worth of your loss of enjoyment, a good personal injury lawyer can help.
If you think you have a case, you need legal help to demonstrate how the medical malpractice led to your loss of enjoyment of life.
Recovery of loss of enjoyment after medical malpractice is an extremely complicated process. Besides, each case proves to be different. You may need a lawyer who will build a successful claim and ensure you get what you deserve. Your lawyer can review your case and give you a hint of how much your case may be worth through a free consultation.
