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What is the Average Settlement for Medical Malpractice in Jacksonville, Florida?

If you have been a victim of medical malpractice, you deserve compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. But getting that compensation may require hiring an attorney and working your way through the legal process.

Many victims of medical malpractice question whether filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is even worth it and whether the average settlement will be high enough to be worth the hassle, given that the legal process is such a time-consuming and expensive process.

This article discusses the average medical malpractice settlement figures in the U.S.

Average Malpractice Settlements

According to the Jama Network, a consortium of medical publications, the average amount of medical malpractice compensation is roughly $330,000, a number that includes both economic and non-economic damages. Furthermore, approximately 7.6% of claims pay over $1 million.

Although they may be helpful as a frame of reference, these numbers just reflect the average settlement.  Claims with severe injuries may receive higher payouts. Claims with minor injuries may receive lower settlement offers.

Factors Affecting Settlement Value

Of course, just because you have a legitimate case against a doctor or hospital doesn’t mean you will receive the average compensation. The value of your compensation will differ depending on several factors:

How Seriously You Were Harmed

The main purpose of compensation is to pay for any expenses or losses you suffer after being injured by someone else’s negligence. There are other economic damages you can suffer beyond medical bills, though, which include the following:

  • Lost wages
  • Therapy costs
  • Costs for assistive services
  • Costs for equipment needed after an injury (like a wheelchair)

All of these costs and losses should be covered by the compensation you receive, but understand that an injury that is resolved in a few months will result in less recompense than one that requires a lifetime’s worth of care.

Pain and Suffering

Not all the harms you suffer from medical malpractice will be financial. You could experience significant non-economic damages after the incident. Non-economic damages are personal losses that do not have an intrinsic financial value. 

These damages can take many forms, including:

Often, non-economic damages can make up the largest portion of your medical malpractice awards. Courts and insurers frequently calculate non-economic awards using the multiplier method. With this method, your injuries will be assigned a number from 1.5 to 5 based on their severity. 

The court or insurer will then multiply your economic losses by this number.

Florida Medical Malpractice Caps

Like many states, Florida has a statute that places caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. However, in 2017, the Florida Supreme Court struck the statute down as unconstitutional. 

Therefore, there are no caps on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. If you require $10 million for medical treatment, lost wages, and other expenses due to the harm you suffered, you can receive compensation for that entire sum.

Get the Money You Deserve

Medical malpractice victims almost always incur high medical costs and lost wages, which aren’t expenses you should cover on your own. You may also experience significant pain and suffering. If you have been harmed by an act of medical malpractice, you should seek experienced legal representation.

Contact Baggett Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation with a Jacksonville medical malpractice lawyer. Our legal team can help you understand the compensation you might be entitled to in your medical malpractice case. 

Contact the Jacksonville Medical Malpractice Law Firm of Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers Today For Help

For more information, please contact the Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra medical malpractice law firm of Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.

We serve Duval County, St. Johns County, and its surrounding areas:

Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers – Jacksonville
9471 Baymeadows Rd #105,
Jacksonville, FL 32256
(904) 396-1100

Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers – Downtown Jacksonville
121 W Forsyth St Suite 1000,
Jacksonville, FL 32202
(904) 822-4225

Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers – Ponte Vedra
480 Town Plaza Ave #130,
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32081
(904) 675-1167

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