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You place your full faith and complete trust in doctors, nurses, and health care providers to give you the very best care and follow a strict code of medical ethics. When medical malpractice occurs, it can be devastating for you and your family, causing pain, suffering, lost wages, and emotional distress. Patients can sue healthcare providers for their injuries, but do Washington, DC medical malpractice laws limit the amount of compensation a person can receive?
The District of Columbia has strict statutes of limitations for when a person can file a lawsuit seeking damages for medical malpractice against a healthcare provider. Injured parties throughout Washington, DC must also follow the law regarding how to file a claim for medical malpractice. But like so many other states across the country, does the law limit the damages an injured party can seek?
Throughout the country, state legislatures continue to implement caps on the amount of money a person can receive in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Such tort reform efforts attempt to limit an injured party’s ability to receive compensation. However, while many states do cap damages in medical practice lawsuits, Washington, DC has not, meaning victims can receive the maximum amount of compensation for injuries, pain, and suffering. An experienced medical malpractice attorney in the District of Columbia can help you determine the best way to approach your case and help you receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
The injuries caused by your healthcare provider in a medical malpractice incident can reverberate throughout your life. Physical pain and suffering can immobilize you, keeping you from work while making you unable to enjoy time with your family. In addition, the pain can leave you feeling emotionally distressed and mentally scarred. The trauma put upon you by medical malpractice in Washington, DC can cause untold harm to you and your loved ones.
While economic damages can never make you whole again, they are a significant step forward in helping you to repair your life. Washington, DC law understands this, which is why here, in the District of Columbia, there are no caps on compensation for medical malpractice cases. Although other states embraced tort reform, limiting the amount of money a plaintiff can seek for their injuries, DC allows victims of medical malpractice to receive the maximum amount of compensation they deserve.
When filing a claim against your healthcare provider, there are three distinct types of damages that you can seek — Economic Damages, Non-Economic Damages, and Punitive Damages. A highly experienced attorney with a proven track record of negotiating settlements and winning trial verdicts can help you navigate your options.
When you are injured due to a medical malpractice incident in Washington, DC, you will most likely have real economic losses that you will feel almost immediately. The inability to work or earn a paycheck while your bills continue to pile up is a difficult situation for anyone. But when it results from an injury caused by your healthcare provider, the stress can be overwhelming. Economic Damages are meant to compensate you for actual monetary losses, such as lost wages, medical bills, and even future earnings lost due to your injury.
As your bills continue to come in week after week and the pain from your injury worsens, it may begin to affect your emotional wellbeing and mental health. Medical malpractice in Washington DC is a traumatic event, and repercussions can be devastating. There is no shame in seeking help. Non-Economic Damages for medical malpractice are for pain, suffering, and emotional distress associated with your injury.
When you suffer from an injury at the hands of a healthcare provider, the experience can shake your world. All of us expect doctors and nurses to care for us, not hurt us. When medical malpractice in Washington, DC occurs, we not only want compensation for our injuries, we want to make sure that the person who caused them never does it again. Punitive damages are designed as a form of punishment meant to be so great as to deter the healthcare provider from committing the same act again. Medical malpractice victims cannot recover such damages from the federal government.
In Washington DC, medical malpractice litigants have three years from when their injuries occurred to file a lawsuit. According to the law, if a medical malpractice victim in DC fails to file a lawsuit within the three-year time limit, they forgo their right to seek compensation from their healthcare provider unless their case qualifies for certain exceptions. However, there are no caps on the amount of compensation an injured party can seek.
And while statutes of limitations and compensation rules for medical malpractice cases in Washington, DC can feel overwhelming, you are not alone. The experienced attorneys at Regan Zambri Long can help you navigate the system, so you receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Call us today at 202-960-4596 for a free consultation.
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