When nursing home neglect or medical negligence causes serious injury, the harm is not limited to medical bills and other financial losses.
A resident may endure severe pain. A previously independent person may lose mobility. A patient may live with permanent disability, disfigurement, anxiety, or a dramatically reduced quality of life.
Those human losses are generally described as non-economic damages.
They can be especially important in nursing home and medical negligence cases because the greatest harm is often not something that appears on an invoice.
What Are Non-Economic Damages?
Non-economic damages compensate for the human consequences of an injury.
Depending on the facts of the case, they may involve:
- physical pain and suffering;
- mental and emotional suffering;
- loss of enjoyment of life;
- physical impairment;
- disfigurement;
- loss of independence;
- loss of dignity; and
- certain losses affecting close family relationships where recognized by law.
Unlike medical bills or lost wages, these losses do not come with a receipt.
They must be shown through the medical evidence, the circumstances of the injury, testimony from the injured person and family, and the effect the injury had on everyday life.
Pain and Suffering
Pain is often one of the most significant harms in a serious nursing home or medical negligence case.
A resident may experience pain from:
- a fractured hip or other broken bone;
- an untreated pressure injury;
- wound debridement;
- infection;
- surgery;
- aspiration;
- medication errors;
- prolonged hospitalization; or
- other serious injury.
The duration of the pain matters.
So does its severity.
A painful injury lasting several days is different from an injury that causes months or years of suffering.
Loss of Mobility and Independence
Many nursing home residents already require some assistance.
That does not mean further loss of independence is insignificant.
A resident who could previously walk with a walker may become wheelchair dependent after a fracture.
A resident who could transfer with limited assistance may become dependent on two caregivers.
A person who could eat independently may require feeding assistance after a neurological injury.
Those changes can dramatically affect quality of life even when the resident was already elderly or medically fragile.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
Serious injuries can interfere with the ordinary activities that gave a person enjoyment.
For a nursing home resident, those activities may not involve strenuous hobbies.
They may involve:
- walking to the dining room;
- visiting family;
- attending religious services;
- participating in activities;
- sitting outside;
- eating normally;
- communicating with loved ones; or
- simply being able to move without severe pain.
The loss of those ordinary experiences can be significant.
Emotional and Mental Suffering
A serious injury can also create emotional harm.
A patient or nursing home resident may experience fear, anxiety, humiliation, depression, confusion, or emotional distress after an injury.
Those issues can arise after:
- falls;
- abuse;
- severe wounds;
- repeated hospitalization;
- loss of independence;
- disfigurement;
- frightening medication errors; or
- other traumatic events.
The evidence may come from medical records, mental-health treatment, family observations, and the injured person’s own testimony.
Disfigurement
Some injuries leave permanent physical changes.
Examples may include:
- scars;
- surgical wounds;
- amputations;
- severe pressure injuries;
- tissue loss; or
- other permanent physical changes.
Disfigurement can affect both physical comfort and emotional well-being.
Non-Economic Damages in Nursing Home Fall Cases
A nursing home fall can cause much more than a medical bill.
A hip fracture may lead to surgery, severe pain, immobility, rehabilitation, and permanent loss of function.
Some residents never return to their prior level of independence.
When evaluating damages, we look at the resident’s condition before the fall and compare it with what happened afterward.
That comparison can be critical.
Pressure Injuries and Human Suffering
Severe pressure injuries can cause extraordinary suffering.
Residents may undergo painful dressing changes, repeated debridement, infection, surgery, hospitalization, and prolonged wound care.
A resident may also experience embarrassment, odor, immobility, isolation, and loss of dignity.
The medical chart often documents only part of that experience.
Family testimony and the resident’s condition during treatment may help explain what the injury actually meant in daily life.
Infection and Sepsis
A serious infection can lead to pain, fever, confusion, hospitalization, invasive treatment, intensive care, or prolonged recovery.
In severe cases, the resident may suffer organ injury, permanent decline, or death.
The non-economic harm depends on what the person actually experienced and how long the suffering lasted.
Medication Errors
Medication errors can create severe physical and emotional consequences.
A resident who receives the wrong medication or dose may experience hypoglycemia, bleeding, sedation, altered mental status, cardiovascular complications, hospitalization, or other serious effects.
The damages analysis should consider both the physical consequences and the experience of the resident during the event.
Medical Malpractice and Non-Economic Damages
Medical negligence can result in life-changing injuries.
Examples may include:
- permanent disability;
- loss of function;
- neurological injury;
- chronic pain;
- unnecessary surgery;
- disfigurement;
- delayed treatment;
- progression of disease; or
- loss of independence.
The value of non-economic damages depends heavily on the nature, duration, and severity of the harm.
Preexisting Conditions Do Not Eliminate Human Loss
Nursing home residents and medical patients frequently have significant medical conditions before negligence occurs.
That does not mean additional suffering is irrelevant.
A resident with dementia can still experience pain.
A person with limited mobility can still lose additional independence.
A medically fragile patient can still suffer avoidable fear, discomfort, and deterioration.
The relevant question is what additional harm the negligence caused.
How Non-Economic Damages Are Proven
There is no single formula.
Evidence may include:
- medical records;
- photographs;
- wound documentation;
- testimony from family members;
- testimony from the injured person;
- nursing records;
- rehabilitation records;
- mental-health records;
- expert testimony; and
- evidence showing the person’s condition before and after the injury.
The goal is to give the jury a fair understanding of what the injury actually meant in that person’s life.
Before-and-After Evidence
One of the most useful ways to understand non-economic damages is often to compare the person’s life before the injury with life afterward.
Questions may include:
- Could the resident walk before?
- Could the resident feed or toilet independently?
- Was the resident communicating with family?
- Was the resident participating in activities?
- How much pain did the resident have before the incident?
- What changed after the injury?
That comparison can make an otherwise abstract damages claim understandable.
Family Testimony Can Matter
Medical records document treatment.
They do not always capture what a person was like day to day.
Family members may be able to explain:
- changes in personality;
- changes in mobility;
- changes in communication;
- fear or anxiety;
- loss of independence;
- loss of activities;
- increased pain; and
- changes in the person’s ability to interact with loved ones.
That testimony can help show the human consequences of the injury.
Non-Economic Damages and Wrongful Death
When nursing home neglect or medical negligence contributes to a death, Kentucky law may allow different categories of damages depending on the claim, the evidence, and who is entitled to pursue it.
Wrongful-death and estate claims can involve different legal issues.
The damages analysis should therefore be based on the specific facts rather than a generic formula.
Non-Economic Damages Must Still Be Connected to the Negligence
The existence of pain, disability, or emotional suffering is not enough by itself.
The plaintiff must also show that the harm was caused or worsened by the negligence being alleged.
That is why damages and causation are closely connected.
If a resident had substantial pain before an incident, the question may become what additional pain the injury caused.
If a patient already had significant disability, the issue may be how the negligence changed that condition.
How Ross Mann Nursing Home and Medical Negligence Lawyers Evaluates Non-Economic Damages
We begin by understanding the person, not just the diagnosis.
We examine the medical records, photographs, treatment, rehabilitation, and the person’s condition before and after the injury.
We speak with the family.
We identify what changed.
In serious cases, we work with qualified medical professionals and other experts when necessary to explain the nature and duration of the harm.
The purpose is not to manufacture damages.
It is to present the human consequences of the negligence accurately and completely.
Talk to a Kentucky Nursing Home and Medical Negligence Lawyer
If nursing home neglect or medical negligence caused serious injury or death, financial losses may be only one part of the harm.
Pain, loss of mobility, loss of independence, disfigurement, and diminished quality of life can be equally important.
Ross Mann Nursing Home and Medical Negligence Lawyers represents families throughout Kentucky in serious nursing home neglect, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases.
Contact our Lexington office for a free consultation.