What Can Be Compensated as Economic Damages Under Connecticut Medical Malpractice Law When the Victim Survives the Malpractice?

In addition to Non-Economic damages, you are also entitled to receive money damages as compensation for ALL Economic Damages, Losses, and Harms that you have suffered—and will suffer in the future—as a result of medical malpractice. Here is a partial list of some typical items that are considered Economic Damages arising from a medical malpractice claim for which you would be entitled to compensation:

THE COST OF PAST MEDICAL TREATMENT. You are entitled to be reimbursed for the reasonable cost of all past medical treatment that you needed to fix the harm caused by the malpractice; examples would include the costs for medical providers or services such as:

• ambulance;
• emergency room or emergency department;
• diagnostic testing, such as x-rays, MRI, CT scans;
• laboratory testing;
• prescriptions and medications;
• hospital;
• surgery;
• anesthesia;
• doctors and surgeons;
• psychiatrists and psychologists;
• physical therapy;
• mental health counselors or providers;
• chiropractors;
• visiting nurses;
• rehabilitation specialists;
• vocational specialists;
• professional caretakers;
• medical equipment and beds.

THE COST OF FUTURE MEDICAL TREATMENT. You are entitled to receive compensation for present value of the projected cost of all future medical treatment that you will probably need as a result of medical malpractice. As long as it is more likely than not that you will need the medical treatment in the future, you are entitled to the present value of the anticipated cost of that medical treatment.

THE VALUE OF INCOME OR WAGES LOST IN THE PAST. If you missed time from work and lost income or wages, or had to use vacation, personal, or sick time, you are entitled to receive compensation for the value of the losses.

THE VALUE OF INCOME OR WAGES YOU WILL PROBABLY LOSE IN THE FUTURE. If you will have to miss time from work or your business in the future, you are entitled to the present value of the anticipated value of those projected lost wages or profits that you would have made but for your injuries caused by the medical malpractice or medical negligence.

THE VALUE OF INCOME OR WAGES THAT YOU COULD HAVE MADE IN THE FUTURE – DIMINISHED EARNING CAPACITY. If you will suffer a decrease in or complete loss of your future earning capacity because of the injuries suffered as a result of a medical provider’s negligence or carelessness, you are entitled to recover the value of those losses. Note that the issue is NOT what you were actually earning before the medical malpractice or medical negligence, but what your probable earning capacity was for the future. For example, if you were a student studying to be a registered nurse and working part-time as a waitress to get through school but are so severely injured by the medical malpractice that you could never work as a registered nurse, you would be entitled to compensation based on what a registered nurse would have made in the future so long that we can establish that you probably would have completed your nursing degree, got your license, got a job, etc. (Note, that any amount of future lost wages or lost profits must be off-set by the taxes you would have paid on those wages or profits.)

THE VALUE OF LOST SERVICES IN THE PAST. If you have incurred expenses to pay someone else for ordinary (but necessary) services, chores, or activities that you used to do but could not do because of injuries caused by the medical malpractice, you are entitled to reimbursement for those expenses.

THE VALUE OF LOST SERVICES IN THE FUTURE. If you will continue to incur expenses to pay someone else for ordinary (but necessary) services, chores, or activities that you would have done but can no longer do because of injuries you suffered due to medical malpractice, you are entitled to reimbursement for those expenses.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury or loss caused by medical malpractice, medical negligence, or medical mistake, please contact our Medical Malpractice Law Group to arrange a free and confidential consultation.

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