If the plaintiff's case is successful at trial, then the jury can award a broad range of damages. A plaintiff can recover economic damages, which includes lost wages and medical expenses. A plaintiff can also recover non-economic damages, including awards for "pain and suffering." If the defendant's conduct was particularly egregious and if the jurisdiction allows for them, punitive damages may also be available.1 For example, in 1998, the Supreme Court of Texas upheld punitive damage awards totaling $5.2 million in asbestos cases against Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp.2 Similarly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, applying Georgia law, upheld a $2 million punitive damage award in a failure to warn case involving an intravascular filter manufactured by Bard, Inc.3 But achieving these awards requires substantial commitments of professional time, energy, and funds for plaintiff's evidentiary showing.
To prove that a duty exists, generally one needs only to establish that there was a professional relationship between the healthcare provider and the plaintiff. In most jurisdictions, breach of duty must be established through...
