What damages are generally paid by a settlement or verdict for a Virginia Medical malpractice case?
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In a medical malpractice case in Virginia, if the defendant is liable to you for injury, then a jury may consider any of the following which it believes were actually caused by the defendant's negligence.
1. Medical expenses.
2. Loss of wages.
3. Loss of earning capacity.
4. Pain and suffering.
5. Bodily injury and their effects on the person.
6 Any scarring or disfigurement
7 Inconvenience.
The jury cannot award any money for damages that are only "possible" or that are speculative. For future damages (bill, wages, future surgery, etc) you have to show that it is more likely than not that the future damage will actually take place.
The jury cannot award damages for things that MIGHT have happened if left undiscovered. For example, the pharmacist fills the wrong medication. If you had taken it you would have become very ill or died. You didn't take it. The jury cannot award you damages for the fact that IF you had taken the wrong pills it would have been very harmful to you.
Virginia currently caps all damages in medical malpractice cases at two million dollars or less, depending on when the malpractice occurred.