Patients brought to hospital emergency departments are often unable to choose the medical staff that will treat them. In true emergency situations, it is unrealistic to assume that a patient or the family who arrives with the patient will be able to ask questions regarding the qualifications and experience of emergency room medical providers.

All emergency department patients have the right to be treated by competent and qualified medical providers. The medical staff achieves competency and becomes qualified by obtaining necessary education, first aid training, and experience. In a perfect world, every emergency department patient would receive care from staff that have completed their training and have obtained sufficient experience to treat the patients who arrive in the emergency room seeking emergency medical care.

It is a fact of life at the present time that emergency department medical staff receive training on the job and thus must receive appropriate supervision to insure that proper care is provided to patients. The proper supervision of medical staff in the emergency department is a two-way street: trainees must realize when they need assistance from a more experienced supervisor, and seek timely and appropriate assistance, and supervisors must be aware of and timely act upon situations in which trainees must be closely supervised so that patients do not experience unnecessary harm.

A study entitled “A review of medical malpractice cases involving trainees in the emergency department” published in August 2023 that analyzed medical malpractice lawsuits involving trainees providing care in the emergency department (ED) identified 60 medical malpractice cases reported between 1982 and 2017 in which a trainee was named in a medical malpractice lawsuit related to patient care provided in the ED.

The researchers reported “the most common alleged errors included diagnostic (n = 37, 61%), treatment (n = 13, 21%), and procedural errors (n = 19, 16%). In 21 cases (35%), it was alleged that no attending physician was directly involved in the care at any time. The attending was noted to have seen the patient in person at any point in only 11 total cases (18%). Of the 50 cases with known outcomes, 15 (30%) decided in favor of the patient, 21 (42%) were resolved in the physician’s favor, and 14 (28%) were settled.”

The study concluded: “This study underscores that trainees are vulnerable to malpractice cases and that lack of direct supervision is a prominent theme in these cases. This information suggests areas for further work and may help training programs, trainees, and supervising physicians design their practice patterns in ways that mitigate these risks in the future.”

If you or a loved one suffered harm as a result of emergency room negligence in the United States, you should promptly find a medical malpractice lawyer in your state who may investigate your emergency room medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a emergency room malpractice case, if appropriate.

Click on the “Contact Us Now” tab to the right, visit our website, or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find medical malpractice attorneys in your state who may assist you.

Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.