If a hospital offers you a settlement after you’ve been injured due to a medical error, you don’t have to accept it on the spot. It’s also in your best interest to discuss your case with a medical malpractice attorney in Harrisburg, so you can learn everything about your case and what a fair settlement should be.
Our medical malpractice lawyers at Marzella & Associates can help you evaluate hospital settlement offers, understand what’s fair, and negotiate for the actual value of your losses. This helps ensure you aren’t pressured into accepting a low settlement offer.
What Should You Do When a Hospital Offers a Settlement?
Start by slowing down. Ask for the hospital’s offer in writing, and don’t sign anything immediately. If you can, get a full accounting of your medical costs, including your past, present, and projected expenses, and make sure you understand potential future expenses.
Reach out to a medical malpractice attorney in Harrisburg before you respond to the offer. They can help you analyze the offer, guide you through whether to negotiate higher, and decide whether litigation may be the best option for your specific situation.
What Are the Risks of Accepting a Hospital Settlement Offer Too Early?
Unrealistic Valuation
You or your family may not yet appreciate how much your medical bills and future care will cost, particularly in complex malpractice cases involving brain injury, surgical error, or lasting disability.
Waiver of Future Claims
Settlement agreements typically include a release clause. Put simply, once you sign, you give up your right to pursue more compensation for new problems later, even if your condition worsens or you die.
Under-Resourced Negotiation
Without a Harrisburg medical malpractice lawyer on your side, you may lack the medical-legal knowledge to interpret the hospital’s liability, the strength of its case, or the real risk of going to trial.
Power Imbalance
Hospitals have experienced defense counsel and risk-management teams. They will offer a figure that sounds generous but is strategically low, and you won’t even know it.
How Can a Quick Settlement from a Hospital Shortchange You?
Imagine you were seriously injured during surgery due to a surgical error. A week later, the hospital offers you a settlement to close the case quickly. At that point, you’re still healing, you haven’t had all your imaging done, and you don’t yet know how much physical therapy or future surgery you’ll need. If you accept, you may waive your rights to additional treatment costs once the full scope of your recovery becomes clear.
How a Seasoned Medical Malpractice Attorney in Can Help
Before you sign anything, your Harrisburg medical malpractice lawyer can review the hospital’s offer, assess whether it fairly reflects your current and future medical costs, and evaluate the strengths of the hospital’s defense. They will consult independent medical experts who can accurately break down your treatment roadmap, estimate your long-term care needs, and assign a realistic value to your claim.
Likewise, they can draft more favorable settlement terms, pushing back when the hospital undervalues losses, such as pain and suffering, future disability, or life adjustments, and other damages you’re entitled to. If the initial offer is insufficient, they will negotiate aggressively.
When needed, your Harrisburg medical malpractice attorney can prepare to file a lawsuit, preserving your leverage while you continue your medical care uninterrupted. They will handle all communications, protect your rights, and make sure the agreement is in your best interest, not just the hospital’s.
Speak With Our Malpractice Lawyers in Harrisburg Today
Contact Marzella & Associates at 717-876-8681 or online for a no-cost review of any settlement offer you’ve received. Together with our attorneys, we’ll make sure you don’t trade away fair compensation for a quick settlement.