I think it is great that the facility is voluntarily taking responsibility for what they did. Nevertheless, you have to make sure that the resolution process is fair.
Generally speaking, there are two aspects of damages in a medical malpractice case: economic loss and non-economic loss. Economic loss consists of lost wages caused by the impact of the injuries to your ability to earn a living, and out of pocket medical expenses (medical bills if your bills were not covered by insurance, or if your insurance company is entitled to subrogate in your malpractice action, reimbursement for what they have paid for injuries caused by negligence). Non-economic loss includes damages for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
I believe California has a statutory cap on non-economic loss claims in medical malpractice cases. (Click here for an article addressing this by the AMA). Therefore, your claim for damages for non-economic loss will likely be limited to that amount. If you have no economic loss claims, it might make sense for you to settle your claim for $250,000 under these circumstances. If you do have lost wages and medical expenses, your case is worth the $250,000 plus whatever the total of those items are.
Before you resolve your claim, you will need to determine whether your health insurance carrier or Medicare/Medicaid has a right to reimbursement for bills they paid related to injuries caused by negligence.
My recommendation is that you seek out a local medical malpractice lawyer (one in your state) advise him of the circumstances, and have him help yo u determine whether you have any economic loss claims. You should start off by advising him that the facility has already admitted responsibility and has asked you for a demand. You should work out a compromised fee arrangement with the attorney. Generally, they get 1/3 of your recovery, but if the facility is already seeking to settle the claim, perhaps you could negotiate either a compromised flat fee or offer to pay them at an hourly rate so that they do not get an unfair amount of money for doing such little work.
Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com Skype: john_ratkowitz Web: www.starrgern.com.
...
Read More