Every year, recently, approximately 35 million people visit the hospital. This may sound like a lot, but over the years the amount of people entering hospitals has been decreasing. Today we have 1000 fewer hospitals than before and still, we are seeing a decrease in patient income. However, when we think of the medical staff on hand, there is still medical staff needed and people are still underserved. When you are in hospitals that are understaffed then you may find that your standard of care may be compromised. On the contrary, there may be so many on staff that as a patient you may be overlooked or there may be great miscommunication because of so many people. Whatever, the issue, when a medical facility fails to perform the proper standard of care then lives can change forever, and not in a good way.
A Poor Boy’s Story
The 2-year old boy was walking in the woods with his parents when he fell and hit his head on a stick on the ground. He was rushed to the hospital where the medical professionals pumped him up with steroids and sent them home. The parents asked for an $800 CAT scan, but the doctors denied it. The young boy had a growing brain abscess that could have been prevented had the doctors approved of the CAT scan. The day after he was discharged from the hospital the parents brought their son back to the hospital. It was proven in court that had the boy had a CAT scan then the brain abscess would have been detected and the resulting damages of blindness and brain damage could have been avoided.
The jury of the trial awarded $7.1 million for pain and suffering. However, according to the 1975 Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), there is a $250,000 cap on “non-economic” damages. These are categorized as injuries that are hard to set a dollar amount because they tend to be abstract or too vague. For example, “non-economic” damages are abstract concepts like pain and suffering, anxiety, discomfort, loss of enjoyment in life, and psychological impairment or disfigurement. Even though the jury awarded $7.1 million it was legally reduced to $250,000. The young boy’s family did receive around $2 million for his medical needs, but up to this day the young boy, who is now 10, visits the hospital so much that the mother had to quit her job to take care of her son.
What To Do
Even though MICRA is there for a certain reason, our medical malpractice attorneys in California at Licata & Yeremenko, A Professional Law Corporation want to assure you that will fight to make sure that your whole life is covered for the medical negligence you or your loved one experience. Call 818-783-5757 or click here to speak to our professional attorneys at Licata & Yeremenko, A Professional Law Corporation today. We are ready to work aggressively for your case because we believe that you did not deserve this fate.