In the majority of successful medical malpractice lawsuits, the bulk of damages awarded will be compensatory. That means they are intended to compensate the patient for the losses they have incurred, such as pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages and more. The intention is to “make whole” the patient once again – to whatever extent that is possible – following the doctor’s negligent actions.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n In some situations, punitive damages may be appropriate. Punitive damages are paid to the patient, but they are intended to punish the defendant for egregious wrongdoing. Punitive damages typically won’t be awarded unless a patient can show the doctor engaged in behavior that was especially reckless or intentional. That can be very difficult to prove in these cases, but it’s not impossible. An example might be a physician with a struggling practice who treats a patient in a way that will require extensive follow-up treatment\/ procedures that (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the majority of successful medical malpractice lawsuits, the bulk of damages awarded will be compensatory. That means they are intended to compensate the patient for the losses they have incurred, such as pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages…<\/span><\/p>\n