Pediatric Emergency Medicine Malpractice

Parents will often take children suffering from acute medical issues to the emergency department of a hospital in hopes that there is a pediatrician on staff that can address their child’s concerns. Parents expect pediatric emergency doctors to diagnose and treat their children efficiently and accurately, but some physicians offer care that falls below the standard of care, constituting malpractice. If your child suffered harm due to pediatric emergency medical malpractice, you could be owed damages, and it is advisable to contact an attorney regarding your potential claims. The skillful Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys of Arfaa Law Group can gather any evidence in your favor and set forth compelling arguments on your behalf to provide you with a strong chance of obtaining a favorable outcome.

Numerous issues can prompt parents to bring their children to the emergency departments of hospitals. For example, they may seek treatment for their children following falls or other accidents that cause suspected broken bones, contusions, and bleeding. Additionally, they may take children suffering from serious illnesses to emergency departments as well. Symptoms that may prompt an emergency room visit include acute fever, vomiting, extreme headaches, loss of consciousness, extreme pain, and respiratory distress.

Typically, a child that visits an emergency department will be evaluated and treated by a pediatrician. If the doctor treating a child does not give proper regard to their symptoms or conduct appropriate diagnostic tests, however, the ailment causing their symptoms may go undiagnosed, and their condition may worsen. Similarly, if a physician fails to escalate treatment in an appropriate manner, the child may suffer critical complications.

Pediatric emergency medicine doctors have an obligation to provide their patients with competent care, and if they neglect to, they can be deemed accountable for any harm that ensues due to their recklessness. Most plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases do not allege that the defendant caused intentional harm. Instead, they will usually set forth a negligence claim against the defendant.

In Maryland, to establish negligence in the context of medical care, a plaintiff must show that the defendant owed them a duty. The duty a doctor owes their patient is to offer care that meets the applicable standard, which is the treatment a reasonable doctor who practices in the same specialty as the defendant would be expected to offer when faced with a similar scenario. Second, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant violated the duty owed. Finally, the plaintiff needs to demonstrate that the defendant’s breach of the standard of care caused demonstrable harm. While the plaintiff does not need to show that the defendant’s acts or omissions were the sole cause of the plaintiff’s injuries, they must demonstrate they were a significant factor in bringing them about.

In the majority of Maryland medical malpractice cases, the plaintiff must engage the services of a medical expert to advise the judge or jury of what is required under the standard of care and to establish that the defendant departed from the standard of care, thereby causing the plaintiff’s losses.

The damages recoverable in a pediatric emergency medical malpractice action include the cost of any necessary medical care, out-of-pocket expenses, and other financial harm, and compensation for the emotional and mental distress, trauma, and suffering caused by the defendant’s negligence.

Few things are as harrowing for parents as witnessing their child who is experiencing a health crisis suffer further harm due to pediatric emergency medicine malpractice. If you or a loved one sustained injuries because of the incompetence of a physician, it is in your best interest to talk to confer with an attorney as soon as possible. The capable Baltimore lawyers of Arfaa Law Group can advise you of your rights and aid you in seeking the best legal outcome possible in consideration of the facts of your case. We regularly represent parties in medical malpractice cases in Baltimore, where we have an office. You can contact us by calling us at (410) 889-1850 or by using our online form to set up a confidential meeting.