If the victim is involved in an auto accident and died a few hours later in the hospital because of negligence is there a case for pain & suffering
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If the victim is involved in an auto accident and died a few hours later in the hospital because of negligence is there a case for pain & suffering
the victim is my 21 year old son .he was driving home when he was hit by a drunken driver. my son was a college student and living in our home my son was treated for head and back injuries in the emergency room. meanwhile it was later confirmed that he had a small cut in his aorta.he had internal bleeding and it was more than 2 hours later before they realized their error. they brought him up to the operating room but it was too late, he was pronounced dead a half hour later.I filed for medical malpractice and pain and suffering but I have about a little over a month to prosecute the case.
Asked on May 20, 2009 under Malpractice Law, New York
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
You should really get an experienced malpractice attorney on the case for you, as soon as possible. One place to look for a lawyer in your area is our website, http://attorneypages.com
Your case is for medical malpractice and wrongful death and yes, if you can prove your case, there should be damages for pain and suffering included in the verdict.
The reason that you need a lawyer for this is because medical malpractice is a specialized area, and almost always requires expert testimony. The basic question is usually, did the doctor or the hospital fail to follow the standard of care for the patient, and exactly what that standard of care is, is not something you can pull out of a book. In the facts that you've given, for instance, you would need to prove that, based on your son's visible injuries and whatever other symptoms there were, symptoms that they knew about or should have known if they were doing things right, they should have discovered the internal bleeding sooner -- and you would also have to prove that if they had discovered it when they should have, your son probably would have lived. And that is really a simplified statement of the case!
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