States aim to shield doctors and hospitals from emergency room claims.Emergency room protection proposals appear to be a new legislative trend surfacing in the states. These proposals shield hospitals and doctors from all claims made by anyone entering the hospital via the ER, unless a plaintiff can show "gross negligence An indifference to, and a blatant violation of, a legal duty with respect to the rights of others. Gross negligence is a conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, which is likely to cause foreseeable grave injury or harm to persons, property, or " by "clear and convincing evidence clear and convincing evidence n. evidence that proves a matter by the "preponderance of evidence" required in civil cases and beyond the "reasonable doubt" needed to convict in a criminal case. (See: beyond a reasonable doubt) ." Proponents know that it will be almost impossible for a patient to meet this most difficult burden of proof. Furthermore, these proposals grant favored status to every physician who touches the patient. In 2005, Georgia and South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. enacted similar provisions. In Georgia, injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. patients who enter the hospital through the ER must now meet the new proof standard to recover any damages--economic or noneconomic--against the physician or hospital. South Carolina's law allows suits to be filed only in genuine emergency situations involving gross negligence. If the emergency was created by another cause (like an emergency arising at the hospital) or by medical staff, or if the patient was medically stable upon entering the ER, suit is barred. As long as a hospital initially "evaluates or treats" the patient in the ER, this shield follows the patient wherever he or she goes in the facility. For example, if a pregnant woman enters the ER because she is having contractions and her infant dies due to negligence in the obstetrical obstetrical, obstetric pertaining to or emanating from obstetrics. obstetrical anesthesia an anesthetic procedure designed especially for patients undergoing cesarean operation or intrauterine manipulation of the fetus. unit, these proposals may bar her from holding the doctor and hospital liable. These proposals have an unfair and disparate impact A theory of liability that prohibits an employer from using a facially neutral employment practice that has an unjustified adverse impact on members of a protected class. A facially neutral employment practice is one that does not appear to be discriminatory on its face; rather it is on women and the poor, who use the ER more frequently than the general population. Everyone deserves the same level of care, but these bills let doctors and hospitals off the hook if they carelessly treat patients entering the hospital through the ER. Fortunately, Arizona beat back a similar measure in May. |
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