Your medical malpractice attorney will document your losses from your injuries. These losses usually fall into two categories:
Economic Losses
Economic losses include all the ways the medical error affected you financially. Economic losses include expenses paid to correct the medical error and the income you lost after missing work.
Economic losses can also include diminished earning potential. If the medical error caused a permanent disability, you might need to change jobs or quit your job altogether. Your damages may include the income you lose over your lifetime due to the disability.
Non-Economic Losses
Non-economic losses cover the effects of the injury on your quality of life. Your life changes as a result of an injury. You suffer from pain, which causes sleeplessness and makes you irritable. You might also experience mental anguish from fear of the future, anger at the healthcare provider, and sadness over losing your health.
You may lose independence and require shopping, driving, or dressing assistance. You will need to adjust your lifestyle since you might be unable to exercise or walk from the parking lot to your office.
You cannot quantify these losses, but you still experience them. As a result, an insurance adjuster can offer compensation for these non-economic losses. If not, your medical malpractice lawyer can fight for them.