The law holds emergency room medical providers to a slightly different standard of care than non-emergency medical providers. This is not because their work is any less important, but because they are often in a situation where they have to treat patients immediately, with little information about their medical histories.
However, emergency room medical care providers must provide care consistent with the level of care provided by other emergency room professionals under similar circumstances. In some cases, more than one party may be responsible for malpractice. Cases involving more than one liable party are even more complex.
In a medical malpractice case, the foundation is proving that your injury was a direct result of the medical professional’s negligence. The first question is, was the health care provider negligent? Just because the outcome was not good does not mean there was negligence involved. Proving negligence in a medical malpractice case involves reviewing, analyzing, and explaining complicated medical decisions, standards, and practices.
The patient needs qualified medical experts to testify as to whether the health care provider was negligent and if so, whether the negligence caused the harm. The health care provider may claim that another factor, such as the underlying illness or injury, caused the harm.
The injured person bears the burden of proof regarding issues of negligence and causation. Studies show that jurors tend to give doctors the benefit of the doubt in medical malpractice cases, so it is important to establish these matters conclusively.