After you or a loved one faces injuries from a car accident, the first medical assistance comes from an emergency medical technician (EMT). His/her primary role is to stabilize your condition until you safely arrive at the hospital for further treatment. Therefore, EMTs play a significant role in ensuring that the subsequent treatment you receive from doctors is successful, thanks to the initial medical attention.

However, when the EMTs engage in malpractice, they could create hazardous environments for you, as the patient, leading to severe personal injuries. Subsequently, you will need to seek legal redress against the responsible parties to help recover from the damages they cause you.

A personal injury attorney’s help is crucial when filing a lawsuit against the liable party in your case. This is because an experienced attorney will know what arguments to use against the defendant. Subsequently, you have a better chance of securing rightful compensation with a lawyer’s help. At Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney, you will receive the required legal assistance to determine if an EMT personnel was liable for medical malpractice.

EMTs Liability for Medical Malpractice

As mentioned, emergency medical technicians are often the primary caregivers for any accident victims, as they stabilize their conditions before reaching the hospital. Due to this, EMTs should exercise high standards of care to the patients to ensure that they have the best chances of surviving before seeing a specialist in the hospital. Hence, the imposition of a responsibility to exercise professional care creates a legal duty for all EMTs.

The result is that any EMT found to violate the expected duty to care for patients can face legal consequences. Typically, as the aggrieved person, you will be responsible for filing a civil suit and presenting your claims against the EMT. To do this, you must ensure that the presented claims fall within a credible area of tort law backed by reasonable arguments.

Meeting with your attorney before filing a suit is advisable because he/she can guide you through the best claim for your damages. In tort law, the best claim to raise is negligence, as it encompasses all possible malpractice elements.

Once your attorney establishes that you have a valid negligence claim against the liable EMT, you can then prepare an in-depth analysis. The case should build on each element that encompasses a valid negligence claim.

Under the laws of negligence, the judge will have to confirm that the EMT was involved in the following four aspects:

  • He/she was under a duty of care
  • He/she breached the duty of care
  • The causation of your injuries or medical complications as a result of the breach
  • You suffered significant harm and are entitled to damages

  1. There Was a Duty of Care

The imposition of a duty of care arises when the law expects people to exercise reasonableness in daily activities. Moreover, a duty of care prevents people from failing to take action, especially if they are professionals who wilfully took on the responsibility.

Thus, EMTs fall within the category of medical professionals who must uphold the necessary medical standards of care to all patients they assist. When presenting a solid case to show that the EMT was under a duty of care, your lawyer will focus on:

Establishing Reasonable Foreseeability

Naturally, a medical professional working to help patients in emergencies should reasonably foresee that patients require high standards of care. For example, if your car accident caused a traumatic head injury, the EMTs who attended to the emergency should prepare adequately to protect your head from further injury while in the ambulance.

The aspect of reasonable foreseeability also entails using medical codes of practice to guide when handling patients in critical conditions. Hence, all EMTs have a duty of care to ensure that each patient's condition is diagnosed and stabilized without wasting time. After a car accident, exposure to subsequent complications like infections in open wounds is common.

Applying Justice and Reasonableness When Imposing a Duty of Care

Moreover, you should note that the duty of care should be imposed on EMTs fairly and reasonably. The requirement, therefore, limits the type of liability your attorney can impose on the defendant, especially if doing so would be irrational.

For example, it would be unfair to expect an EMT to know your medical history before administering first aid because they mostly operate in emergencies. Consequently, if the EMT lacked a reasonable way of finding your medical history, he/she may not be a liable party to your suit. This would be reinforced in court, particularly if you did not suffer significant damage from your EMT encounter.

  1. The EMT Breached the Duty

After your lawyer determines that the EMT was under a duty of care, he/she must prove that there was a breach of the duty. Proving the breach element would require your lawyer to expound on the specific actions that the EMT undertook. Afterward, your lawyer will prove that malpractice occurred by comparing the breach to the expected standard of care.

Handling information on the breach of care may be challenging, as there may be limited witnesses willing to testify on the liable party's breach. For example, if you were unconscious after the accident, you may lack a source of proof to show that the EMT was negligent.

Nevertheless, if someone else was present throughout, they will become a primary witness to elaborate on the specific instances of the breach. This may include your loved one who was also involved in the accident.

There are multiple forms of malpractices that EMTs may engage in, depending on your case’s circumstances. As a result, you will have to assess the events leading to the harm you suffered.

For example, if the ambulance that took you to the hospital lacked essential medical equipment to help you remain stable, you can raise an issue of breach. In this case, the EMT responsible for equipping the ambulance before an emergency rescue operation should have factored in all important equipment before proceeding.

Alternatively, the breach may have occurred through a misdiagnosis made by an EMT. However, since the technicians are not responsible for handling your condition as intensively as in the hospital, your attorney should show that the misdiagnosis was a gross error.

To do this, you should prove that you exhibited symptoms widely associated with a specific injury, yet the EMT could not identify it despite undergoing training. Since finding enough sources of proof on this issue may be technical, seeking an opinion from another EMT professional is beneficial.

Moreover, the professional can appear in court to provide opinion evidence that may persuade the judge to find the defendant liable. The contention issue will be proving that the EMT breached a duty of care to uphold the reasonable medical practice.

Sometimes, you may also suffer harm from the EMT's deliberate failure to provide medical assistance. For example, if the medical technician refuses to engage in the expected medical protocol and administer first aid, he/she is in breach of duty. The deliberate refusal to help may be out of prejudice or outright defiance to the code of medical conduct.

Consequently, you may have suffered significant delays in receiving treatment as you seek alternative sources of medical assistance. If your lawyer can show the direct effects of the breach on your health, the EMT is liable.

EMTs should also follow the stipulated procedures to evaluate all patients after an emergency. Some of the protocols include checking your blood pressure, oxygen levels, and breathing rate. Therefore, if the EMTs handling your case skipped these necessary steps, you have a right to claim a breach of care.

  1. The Causation of Damages was From the Breach

Thirdly, proving that the breach of care was the direct cause of your damages is vital. The step establishes that the defendant is fully liable for the harm and should bear costs for any arising issues.

The common method used to establish causation is known as the "but for" test. Under this approach, your lawyer will show factual and legal causation by linking events that led to your harm.

Therefore, the main argument should be; but for the EMT's malpractice, you would not have suffered harm. If the judge accepts the argument and verifies the different proof sources presented, the defendant will be liable to pay for your compensation.

  1. You Suffered Damages

Finally, your attorney would also have to prove that you suffered significant harm from the EMT’s negligence, resulting in losses and personal injury. When making a presentation on this final element, your attorney should have sufficient sources of proof for your claims to increase the credibility of your case.

The common damages suffered by accident victims after malpractice are:

Medical Expenses

After already suffering a car accident, you are likely to be exposed to serious injuries that require medical attention. However, if the EMT who was to administer the initial care did not undertake his/her duties well, you are exposed to additional complications that could increase your medical expenses.

For example, if you suffered excessive bleeding from an EMT's negligence, you may have to spend additional time in the hospital waiting for a blood transfusion. Ultimately, your total medical fees will increase compared to a scenario where you would have received expeditious help to prevent the bleeding.

In other cases, the doctors who take over from EMTs may request to run additional tests after you received substandard attention from the liable EMT. They may include X-rays, MRI, and CT-scans that were otherwise avoidable. If your doctor expressly stated that you were only facing the additional tests because of the EMT's malpractice, your claim for medical costs is valid.

However, presenting proof to back your claims in court is crucial, as the judge must ascertain the validity of damages. Subsequently, your lawyer will encourage you to present any medical records arising from the accident and medical malpractice by the EMT. For example, if a doctor diagnosed you with a critical condition caused by negligence at the first instance, you may present original documents of the report in court.

Additionally, showing all the procedures, you had to undergo to curb the consequences of an EMT's malpractice is important. This includes all imaging results, bloodwork results, and additional doctor's notes. All the details should be linked to the EMT's actions and how they impacted your health negatively, especially if you had a chance to receive better care.

Despite this, you should remember that accessing the required medical records is not always easy. This is because most hospitals are always busy, and finding someone to assist with tracing the records may be difficult. Nevertheless, your attorney can seek assistance from paralegals in the firm or any other person working in the hospital to expedite the process of recovering your records.

If your lawyer has access to these additional services, you will benefit from the efficiency of gathering medical documents as evidential sources. In return, your claims in medical costs will be valid in court, giving you a good chance of receiving compensation.

Pain and Suffering from the Worsened Injuries

Further, you can raise a claim of pain and suffering that arose from the EMT's negligence. The argument will show that your painful experience only occurred because the liable EMT did not conduct his/her work to the expected standard.

For example, if you underwent surgery that would have been avoidable if the EMT exercised the correct medical procedure, your claim is valid.

Yet, you should also remember that raising a claim for pain and suffering entails unsubstantiated requests. Thus, you should carefully deliberate before including pain and suffering as a claim. This is because the judge will have to infer the appropriate amount of monetary compensation to award you.

One of the common approaches in determining the amount you are entitled to be by asking you to rate your experience on a scale. Typically, this scale would range between one to ten, with each figure holding an attached monetary value. For example, if your current physical and emotional pain falls within scale 5, the judge can use the figure to calculate damages.

However, you should remember that you must also justify your choice by providing details to prove your current predicament. Therefore, your attorney should help you prepare adequately before presenting pain and suffering as a claim.

Loss of Wages or a Source of Income

Sometimes, the damage you suffer from the EMT's malpractice can lead to loss of wages. The case is common for patients who face severe consequences from medical negligence, including face amputations, severe brain damage, or permanent paralysis.

Since these conditions will change your ability to work, as usual, you will have a valid claim to seek compensation for lost employment opportunities. In court, the judge assesses your demand by asking about your average income amount over a specific period.

If you cannot work for the rest of your life, the defendant may be liable to compensate you for all lost wages you would have earned within your working life. However, a limit exists depending on the age you were supposed to retire.

Additionally, if you are a young person who has not started working but has the potential, the defendant may equally be liable for your loss of career opportunities. Mostly, the judge will estimate the nature of your career path and whether you were likely to progress in your field. Afterward, he/she will issue an amount to sustain you for the projected period.

More claims to make for aggrieved parties are:

  • Wrongful death of a loved one
  • Loss of consortium
  • Additional incurred costs like having to hire home caregivers after suffering severe medical complications

Contact a Car Accident Attorney Near Me

When you sustain serious injuries and health complications due to an EMT’s medical malpractice, you could seek compensation in the form of damages. The harm caused by the EMT’s negligence may lead to irreversible health complications, especially if you suffer from major body disorders.

As a result, you require the assistance of a highly-qualified personal injury attorney who understands the various legal steps to take when seeking compensation. Your attorney plays a significant role in collecting evidence to prove the EMT’s negligence, as well as justifications for your entitlement to damages. Thus, you will be ready to proceed with your civil proceedings after making all necessary preparations with a probability of success.

At Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney, we have worked with many aggrieved clients in the past to help them recover from the harm caused by EMT’s malpractice. Thanks to the wealth of experience we have gathered over the years, you can expect to receive excellent legal advice and guidance as you prepare for court proceedings.

Our team is also ready to offer additional support through the difficult times as you aim to make a full recovery after your accident. If you require the services of a car accident attorney, Los Angeles, California, reach us today at 424-237-3600.