How Much Money Can I Get In My California Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

The purpose of a medical malpractice lawsuit is to compensate the victim of a health professional's negligence. Unfortunately, the only way the legal system knows how to compensate someone is by giving them money. The question then becomes, how much is a person's right arm worth? How much is an additional year of suffering worth? How much is a misdiagnosis worth? How much is someone's life worth?

Theoretically, a victim can be compensated for all of his or her medical expenses. However, in many states, including California, the law places a cap on how much money a victim of medical malpractice can recover for certain types of damages, namely noneconomic damages. Noneconomic damages, as defined in California Civil Code section 3333.2(a), include pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement and other nonpecuniary damage.

According to California Civil Code section 3333.2(b), the most you can get for noneconomic damages is $250,000. This means that you have to make sure you are fairly and appropriately compensated for your economic damages.

When you are considering bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit against your health care provider, you need to make sure you hire a lawyer who knows how to maximize both your economic and noneconomic damages. Otherwise, you risk putting yourself in a situation where you were under-compensated for your loss. To find a qualified medical malpractice attorney near you, click on your state on the left side of your screen.