An emergency medical technician (EMT) in Maryland provides the initial medical care after you or a loved one is hurt in an accident. An EMT’s main responsibility is maintaining your condition until you can safely get to the hospital for specialized treatment. Therefore, by providing initial medical care, EMTs play a crucial role in ensuring that the later medical care you receive from doctors is effective.

However, if the EMTs commit medical malpractice, they might put you in dangerous situations that worsen your injury. You will then need to file a lawsuit to hold the accountable parties accountable for the harm they have caused you.

When bringing a lawsuit against an EMT, you want to call a medical malpractice attorney in Maryland for legal counsel. A skilled lawyer knows the ideal strategies to obtain fair compensation. 

EMTs’ Liability for Medical Malpractice

Emergency medical technicians should provide patients with high standards of care for better survival before arriving at the hospital. Therefore, the requirement to provide professional treatment imposes a legal obligation on all EMTs.

As a result, any EMT proven to have violated the obligation to care for patients may be subject to legal repercussions. Normally, you could bring your injury claim against the EMT in a civil lawsuit. To accomplish this, you must ensure that your claims are supported by solid evidence and fall under a recognized body of tort law.

Your attorney could review your case and determine if you have a strong negligence case against the accountable EMT. Each component of a legitimate negligence claim should be supported by evidence. You must prove to the judge that the EMT engaged in the following per the statutes of negligence:

• The EMT Had a Duty to Care

Emergency medical technicians belong within the category of medical professionals who are obligated to provide all patients they help with the required medical care standards. Your attorney will put a strong emphasis on the following while arguing that the EMT was required to use reasonable care:

Establishing Reasonable Foreseeability

A medical professional should offer patients high standards of care when assisting them during emergencies. For example, if an accident left you with a traumatic head injury, the EMTs who handled the emergency should have been appropriately prepared to keep your head safe in the ambulance.

Using medical codes of practice as a guide while caring for patients in severe conditions is another part of reasonable foreseeability. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every EMT to diagnose and stabilize each patient’s condition quickly. Following an accident, it’s typical to experience additional consequences, including infections in exposed wounds.

Applying Justice and Reasonableness When Imposing a Duty of Care

EMTs should be subject to a fair and reasonable duty of care. As a result, the requirement restricts the kind of responsibility your lawyer can place on the defendant, particularly if doing so would be unreasonable.

For instance, because EMTs work mostly in crises, it would be unjust to expect them to be aware of your medical history before providing first aid. Therefore, the EMT may not be a liable party in your lawsuit if they could not know your medical history. This would be supported in court if you did not get serious injuries from meeting with the EMT.

• The EMT Breached the Duty of Care

Your attorney must show that there was a breach of duty after establishing that the EMT owed a duty of care. Your attorney would need to elaborate on the particular activities that the EMT did to show the breach element. After that, your attorney will demonstrate that malpractice occurred by comparing the breach to the anticipated level of care.

Since many witnesses might not be prepared to testify to the liable party’s breach, handling information about the breach of care could be difficult. For instance, if the accident left you unconscious, you might not have any evidence to support your claim that the EMT was careless.

• The EMT’s Breach Caused Your Injuries or Medical Problems

It’s critical to demonstrate that the negligence was the actual cause of your damages. The action proves that the defendant is responsible for the damage and must pay all associated expenses. Your attorney will connect the events that caused your harm to establish factual and legal causation.

The major defense should therefore be that you wouldn’t have been harmed if it weren’t for the EMT’s negligence. The defendant will be responsible for covering your damages if the judge supports your case and recognizes the validity of the evidence you’ve provided.

• You are Entitled to Compensation Since You Sustained Serious Damage

Finally, your attorney must demonstrate that the EMT’s negligence caused you to incur serious losses and personal injuries. To strengthen the credibility of your case when presenting on this last component, your attorney should have enough evidence to support your assertions.

Following negligence, accident victims frequently sustain the following losses:

• Loss of Wages or a Source of Income
• Pain and Suffering from the Worsened Injuries
• Medical Expenses

If an EMT causes harm to you when handling your injuries, you need the help of a highly skilled medical malpractice attorney to help with seeking compensation. Your lawyer is crucial in gathering proof of the EMT’s negligence and providing arguments for your right to compensation.