Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Methodist, or Sutter.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this wrongful death action and its proceedings.)
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES
MEDICAL OPINION TESTIMONY OFFERED FROM ANYONE OTHER THAN PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS WITH SUBSTANTIAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT EXPERIENCE IS INADMISSIBLE
In any action for damages involving a claim for negligence against a physician and surgeon providing emergency medical coverage for a general acute care hospital emergency department, the court shall admit expert medical testimony only from physicians and surgeons who have had substantial professional experience within the last five years while assigned to provide emergency medical coverage in a general acute hospital emergency department. Health & Safety Code Section 1799.110(c).
The term “emergency medical coverage” means treatment given by those physicians who serve as dedicated medical staff of a hospital’s emergency room, or by physicians who have been specially employed or otherwise engaged by a hospital to furnish medical treatment in an emergency room as emergency room physicians. Miranda v. National Emergency Services, Inc. (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 894, 903-04 [41 Cal.Rptr.2d 593].
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
Section 1799.110 is intended to ensure that the performance of an emergency room physician is evaluated under the standard of care essentially equivalent to that prevailing in emergency rooms at the time in the locality where the alleged negligence occurred. Id., at 905.
The professional expertise required in order for a proposed expert to be permitted to testify is the skill and knowledge acquired by an expert on the job as an emergency room physician in the locality where emergency care is provided in a manner substantially the same as in the locale where and when the alleged malpractice occurred; academic credentials or emergency room experience gained in hospitals which do not deliver care in the same manner is not sufficient to meet the demands of Section 1799.110. Miranda, supra, at 905-06. (See Part 3 of 5.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.