The elements of a medical malpractice/healthcare liability claim are the same regardless of the extent of the injury. However, these claims are incredibly expensive and time consuming. Additionally, for cases that go to trial, the health care provider wins around 80% of the time. Therefore, for claims related to less severe injury, the negligence must be greater to justify the risks associated with litigating the case.
The more severe the injury, the greater the potential verdict. Thus, there is more pressure on the defendants to resolve a case before facing a jury when a claim is related to a catastrophic injury. However, no matter how big or small injury or how clear the negligence might be, these cases are rarely ever resolved quickly. They will typically either go to trial or settle on the eve of trial. It takes 2-5 years to get these cases ready for trial in addition to $100,000 to $500,000 in expenses.