“Compensation for damages” is intended to relieve non-material damages with a financial compensation as a payback for the inflicted pain and its consequences. If damage to health occurs as a result of a medical error, the injured party can claim compensation for damages.
The settlement of this compensation is possible in the form of a one-off payment or as a monthly cash pension. However, considered that physical integrity is priceless, it is difficult to calculate the exact and fair amount to be paid off as a sign of compensation for pain and suffering. For this reason, the legislator considers the injured party as a whole and takes individual and personal circumstances into account. If, for example, the patient is no longer able to pursue his or her favorite leisure activities due to a medical error, this damage will also be included in the calculation.
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The following factors play a role in the assessment of damages for pain and suffering:
- The age of the patient
- Duration and intensity of pain
- Duration and number of inpatient treatments and following operations
- Possible stages of disfiguration
- Permanent damages
- Psychological consequences such as depression or anxiety
- Reductions of the senses such as feeling, hearing or seeing
- Length of incapacity for work and occupational restrictions
- Private impairments
- Impairment of potency, fertility or childbearing
- Circumstances which led to the damage, such as malicious intent on the part of the doctor
- Extent of the doctor’s responsibility and guilt
- Attitude of the doctor towards the case
- Possible complicity of the patient
Compensation tables can provide orientation for the calculation.