Wrongful Death Lawsuits And New York Medical Malpractice

When medical malpractice is so severe that it results in the death of a patient because of the negligence of a healthcare professional or entity (hospital, office, EMS), it is an immediate tragedy.  Most times, medical malpractice can be preventable and completely avoid any injury to a patient—especial one resulting in the death of the patient.  But the sad truth is that an instance of medical malpractice can result in the death of a patient.

When this occurs, it is simply known as a wrongful death.  New York law provides that the family of a victim of medical malpractice who is killed by the negligence of a healthcare provider can commence a wrongful death lawsuit.  This can be against the hospital, medical office, EMS/ambulance, doctor, nurse, physician assistant, or any other healthcare provider.

But what is the point of a wrongful death lawsuit anyway?  It won’t bring back your loved one.  Why bring a lawsuit?

While nothing can be done to bring back your loved one, and nothing can be said to make this better, a wrongful death lawsuit is a good idea for several reasons.  These include the following:

1) Wrongful death lawsuits compensate the family for the loss of their loved one.  This is both the loved one’s pain and suffering resulting in his or her death, loss of services, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, financial contributions to the family, lost earnings, lost wages, and compensation for the medical bills.

2) Punitive damages for the loss of your loved one.  Not only is a wrongful death lawsuit to compensation the family of a loved one for their loss, but to also punish the negligent party or parties for killing another human being.  This is not a simple mistake, but a grave mistake which actually kills someone and destroys a whole family.  The idea is to create a deterrent to ensure this does not happen again.

Wrongful death lawsuits can be tough on the family of a victim, but they can be important to help a family get compensation for their loss for their financial future.  It can also be a strong public deterrent and helpful for future cases.