It is an unfortunate reality that the cases that result in awards to plaintiffs are quite serious and claim significant injuries. If your medical care results in an injury and you are treated appropriately, even if you had to spend weeks in the hospital and were out of work, it is unlikely that you will be awarded compensation sufficient to support the claim. Doctors are not perfect and the court does not demand perfection. Your doctor may have been negligent, but, if the negligence simply reflects a less than ideal outcome it may not represent malpractice.
Even if your doctor does something clearly wrong, a case is not worth pursuing for an award or settlement of tens of thousands of dollars. On the other hand, if the doctor’s action or inaction leads to paralysis, permanent injury, disfigurement, disability, or a diminished life span, the injuries may represent sufficient damages to sustain a claim. With the average medical malpractice case presently pushing two to four years, and a potential investment of $60,000 to $100,000 required to see it through trial, only large cases can reasonably be pursued. A good attorney will be honest with you about this.