Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Law: Affording Access to Justice
Personal injury law is that area of the law which provides compensation to victims or survivors for death, harm or damage to a person. The damage or harm may be physical, emotional, or both. Our system of law provides that a person who suffers harm or injury may be entitled to compensation in the form of monetary compensation. The right to recover damages in a personal injury case is based on the long-standing legal principle that an innocent victim of another’s misconduct should not have to bear the burden of the loss.
The recovery in a personal injury or medical malpractice case may include compensation as follows:
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering related to the injury
- Lost wages and medical bills, regardless of whether these items have been paid by insurance or other sources
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Embarrassment or humiliation
- Death of a family member
- Loss or reduction of the marital relationship or any loss or reduction of the services, advice or companionship of a family member.
In addition to providing compensation for injured victims, medical malpractice and personal injury cases frequently cause individuals and corporations to change their practices so as to prevent future injuries to other people. Personal injury and medical malpractice lawsuits have been responsible for countless safety improvements in our cars, machines, clothing and other consumer products we use every day, as well as prompted the development of better and safer medical practices and technology. In fact, the failure to bring medical malpractice and personal injury cases, which would expose improper and unsafe conduct, serves only to encourage and condone dangerous practices, and to permit further unnecessary injury or loss of life.
It has been the experience at Lubin & Meyer that most injured victims are entitled to compensation when the injury could have been prevented if the responsible party had taken the proper safety precautions. Many injured victims, however, never receive the compensation that they are entitled to because they do not know their legal rights. That is why it is so important to consult an attorney who concentrates in the area of medical malpractice and personal injury law whenever an injury is sustained.