Damages for Medical Malpractice Claims
Wilhite & Lea, P.C Attorneys at Law are experienced medical malpractice attorneys in Houston. Contact us for knowledgeable legal representation in Harris County including Houston, Northwest Houston, Champions, Spring, Tomball, Klein, the FM 1960 area, as well as The Woodlands and Conroe in Montgomery County. If you have been injured by the negligence of a doctor, hospital, or nursing home, you need the experienced personal injury attorneys at Wilhite & Lea, P.C. to fight for you to receive the highest possible recovery.
Damages for Medical Malpractice
The call for Tort Reform in Texas has caused very restrictive limits on damages that an injured plaintiff can receive for medical malpractice—even in the most severe cases. Those advocating for Tort Reform in the area of medical negligence argued that caps on damages would reduce the soaring cost of insurance health care providers pay. However, many experts have found that the caps on damages have not resulted in relief for doctors paying high insurance premiums. The damage caps have caused a dramatic reduction in legitimate health care negligence claims though.
Medical Bills / Lost Wages / Mental Anguish
As part of the Tort Reform movement in Texas, the Texas Legislature passed statutes that limit a plaintiff’s recovery for economic and non-economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, mental anguish and pain and suffering. The cap on monetary recovery for a person injured by the negligent conduct of a health care provider is limited to $250,000 for a single negligent doctor, hospital, or nursing home. If the negligence of more than one party resulted in injury to the plaintiff, the damage amount a court or jury may award is limited to $500,000. These recovery limits apply to all claims made against health care providers, even in the most egregious cases.
Exemplary Damages / Punitive Damages
Requiring a defendant to pay for an injured party’s medical bills, lost wages, and mental anguish caused by their medical negligence is intended to provide the person injured by medical negligence compensation for the injuries they received. However, the general purpose of exemplary damages is to punish a defendant for their grossly negligent or malicious conduct. Even though the purpose of exemplary or punitive damages is to punish the wrongdoer, section 74.303 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code caps all damages, “including exemplary damages,” at $500,000, as adjusted to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Further, this cap on punitive damages has been ruled to be constitutional under the Texas Constitution according to the Houston 14th District Court of Appeals.
Even when adjusted to the CPI, this cap on exemplary or punitive damages is a very small amount of money to most health care providers, hospitals, physicians, and nursing homes. Such a small amount of money will likely not punish a defendant with sufficient severity to change their grossly negligent or malicious conduct in the future. However, the Texas Legislature and the courts in Texas continue to uphold this cap on exemplary and punitive damages for medical malpractice.
Wilhite & Lea, P.C. | Houston Personal Injury Lawyers
Wilhite & Lea, P.C. has been dedicated to personal injury for over 40 years. Contact us today if you feel you have a medical malpractice case and you would like to collect damages. Call (281) 537-2171 or submit your brief case details in our online forms. Wilhite & Lea, P.C. represent clients with Medical Malpractice cases in Houston or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Washington County, Grimes County, Fort Bend County and Waller County.