You could be liable for compensation if you sustain a personal injury while receiving emergency medical services. However, you must understand how personal injury laws for medical malpractices work to file a winning lawsuit against the responsible party. For example, if an emergency medical technician is partly to blame for your injury, you can file a claim against them for damages. You also want to find out what other parties could be liable for your damages to receive the compensation you deserve. Remember that EMTs do not earn enough money to compensate you fully for your damages. Some are volunteers and incapable of offering any form of compensation.

Working closely with a skilled personal injury attorney can help determine the right approach to filing a successful claim. Your attorney can investigate other possible liable parties in your case, including the ambulance company, hospital, or emergency room doctor. These could have shared blame for your injuries. Your attorney will also help you determine the damages you must include in your claim for a successful legal process.

EMTs' Liability in Medical Accidents

Emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, provide emergency medical services. You will find most EMTs in ambulances and fire departments. Some work as full-time employees and others work part-time. Some fire departments require their firefighters to have EMT certification. Though EMTs offer similar services to paramedics, they are separate professions. Paramedics have additional education qualifications, requirements, and scope of practice. Generally, EMTs work for public ambulance services, governments, hospitals, municipal EMT agencies, and fire departments. Some are considered paid employees, and others are volunteers. They provide their services under predetermined protocols designed by physicians. 

When a mistake happens during their duty and a patient is injured while receiving care from an EMT, they deserve compensation for their damages. Personal injury laws are based on negligence, whereby a victim can sue anyone who ignored their duty of care and caused them an injury that caused damages. If you or your loved one is injured while receiving emergency medical care, you deserve compensation from the person responsible for your injury. The payment will cater to the damages incurred, including medical costs, lost wages, and lost earning capacity. You could also recover compensation for your pain and suffering.

But you must prove liability for a civil court judge to award your damages. In this case, you have to demonstrate that the EMT owed you a duty of care and caused your injury when they breached that duty of care. You also must show that the injury you sustained was the direct cause of your damages.

But typically, the law does not consider EMTs to be in the same category as other medical professionals like physicians, surgeons, and doctors regarding medical malpractice lawsuits. It is because physicians and other doctors have a more stringent standard of care due to their level of education, the intensive training they receive, and their experience on the job. EMTs are mainly young people with only primary education and pass a basic test to provide minimal care before a professional healthcare provider attends to a patient. Their involvement with patients is minimal.

Additionally, most EMTs do not have personal liability insurance coverage or adequate assets to pay for damages. Personal injury lawsuits are also costly. Even if you have a solid case against an EMT, there is usually no guarantee that the liable party will compensate you for your damages. Due to their low pay, an EMT is expected to have limited or no assets. Thus, if you have suffered a medical-related injury that led to surgery, hospitalization, extensive pain, or disability, the little amount of money an EMT makes will not pay the compensation you deserve for your damages.

However, that does not mean you do not deserve compensation for medical malpractice that caused you an injury. If an EMT is responsible for your injury, you can recover compensation in several other ways.

For example, if the liable party was an employee of a healthcare facility or an ambulance company, the employer could be responsible for the negligent actions of their employee. You can file a claim against the healthcare facility or ambulance company as their employer that hired, supervised, and trained the negligent party.

Filing a Lawsuit Against an Employer for an EMT’s Negligence

Personal injury laws require employers to take responsibility for their employees' negligence if the negligent act occurred when the employee performed their work-related duty. Under the law, the employer will be vicariously liable for their employee’s actions. It means that if an EMT's negligent acts caused you an injury from which you insured damages, you can file a claim against their employer for compensation. The employer could be the medical facility where the EMT is attached, an ambulance company, or a fire department. Here are some reasons a lawsuit against an EMTS employer is acceptable:

The employer is the respondeat superior, which puts them in a better financial position to pay for the damages caused by the employee. Employees, especially those in lower positions, do not have adequate resources to pay for the damages they cause through negligent acts. Most employees, including ambulance drivers and EMTs, are paid an hourly wage. The money is barely enough for their necessities. If you sue an EMT and the judge awards you two million dollars in compensation, the EMT will not compensate you for your damages.

However, employers have the financial abilities and assets to cover the severe personal injury damages victims suffer. Thus, if an EMT caused your injury, you have a better chance of recovering total compensation if you file a claim against the liable party’s employer. Additionally, ambulance companies and healthcare facilities are large companies with sufficient insurance to cover negligent claims by negligent employees.

Ambulance companies and healthcare facilities also owe medical patients a duty of care in ensuring they hire qualified staff. These employers must review all job applications, follow the proper hiring procedures, and supervise their employees. They should also be aware of all their employees' issues, which could put their patients at risk of injury. If a healthcare facility fails to conduct a background check on their ambulance worker during the hiring process, they could make a hiring mistake that could later affect patients.

For example, hiring an EMT with a previous record of abuse-related complaints could be a good reason to blame the employer. Also, ignoring patient complaints about a particular EMT could be the supporting evidence you need to strengthen your case against the EMT employer. The law requires proof that the employer owed you a duty of care in hiring a well-trained and experienced EMT. You must also demonstrate that the employer breached that duty by ignoring the hiring procedures. The court will award your damages if you have compelling evidence against the employer.

How To File a Vicarious Lawsuit After an EMT’s Negligence

If you plan to bring a lawsuit against a negligent EMT’s employer for your damages, you must follow the guidelines for filing vicarious claims. First, you must be sure that the EMT was on duty when they did or failed to do something that caused your injury. The EMT’s actions or omissions must also be within their scope of work. It means that the negligence must have happened when:

  • The emergency medical technician was performing their duty
  • Your injury was due to an action or inaction that the technician was employed to perform
  • The employer was benefiting from the EMT’s action that caused your injury

To file a successful claim, you must understand an EMT’s duties and responsibilities in an ambulance. The services of an EMT are required before a patient receives medical care. These services vary from one region, state, or country to another. EMTs attend to emergencies. They provide first aid to patients needing medical care, keeping them stable until a medical professional follows. EMTs serve a crucial purpose, especially when medical facilities are miles away. Patients need attention and care in an ambulance for several minutes and sometimes hours.

EMTs offer prehospital medication, involving medical care a patient needs before they are brought to a hospital. Prehospital care can involve an ambulance company, the fire department, or local healthcare facilities. When the fire department responds to an emergency call, they often come with EMTs and paramedics to ensure everyone is safe. If someone is injured and requires transportation to a hospital, fire departments use their ambulances or call a local ambulance company to take the patient to an appropriate healthcare facility.

EMTs provide prehospital care when the emergency medical team arrives at the scene and hands the patient over to an emergency doctor. This care could be minor, for example, administering oxygen and monitoring the patient’s vital signs. Some patients require extensive care, for example, those who are involved in severe road accidents or have suffered gunshot wounds.

Filing a Claim Against Negligent Fire Department EMT

Remember that some EMTs work for the fire department, which is a county or city agency. If the EMT is liable for your damages and works for the fire department, that could limit your ability to receive damages after a medical malpractice injury. Injured victims sometimes cannot recover damages from state, city, or county agencies. Sometimes, government agencies, like fire departments, are partially immune from civil suits. Even if you have adequate proof to support your claim, your compensation for economic damages could be limited. A skilled personal injury attorney can help you understand existing caps on damages for civil cases involving government agencies.

However, only be quick to conclude that the liable EMT works for a fire department if you have proof. Not all EMTs who hang around firefighters work for the fire department. The EMT could be an employee of a private organization that you can file your claim against to recover total compensation.

Some government agencies, like EMS departments, partner with private agencies to provide emergency services to the department. For example, a fire department can contract a private organization to provide ambulance services, including EMT support. Working closely with an experienced personal injury attorney is advantageous because these attorneys have this information. They also have the resources to obtain the information needed before determining the party against whom you will file your claim.

Your attorney's role includes researching far and wide for the information that will enable you to file a successful claim for your damages. They must work within the given deadlines to identify possible liable parties in your case and provide proof of their negligence. Your attorney will also clarify the responsibilities of agencies, corporations, and individuals mentioned in your case. Even when it appears you cannot bring a successful claim, an experienced personal injury attorney can identify a few or more possible liable parties who could have shared liability in your medical malpractice case.

The Emergency Room Doctor Could Also Be Liable

When an emergency medical error occurs, it could be challenging to determine the exact point at which a patient was injured. EMTs are sometimes liable if the damage happened before an emergency room doctor attended to the patient. However, doctors could be responsible for medical malpractice even if the injury occurs before they examine or treat the patient.

Remember that when an EMT brings a patient to an emergency room, they must wait for a doctor to triage them. Some doctors take time to figure out how to perform that procedure. If the doctor makes a mistake or omission during that period or when performing an initial evaluation of the patient, it can injure the patient.

Example: An EMT brings in a sick patient to the emergency room. The patient complains of feeling weak. The physician dismisses those complaints and proceeds to diagnose them with another illness. Sadly, the patient suffers severe damage because of an undiagnosed ischemic attack or stroke. 

Some doctors ignore a patient’s complaints because they assume that the patient needs a particular medication or diagnosis, not an actual one. What they miss is the possibility that the patient has a severe underlying condition, like appendicitis, infection, or a ruptured organ. In such cases, doctors can be partly or wholly to blame for medical malpractice, not an EMT. 

However, patients often blame the EMT for failing to recognize some symptoms or not communicating the severity of the matter to the emergency doctor. However, doctors must independently examine a patient immediately after arriving at the emergency room. They must also ask the patient direct questions to determine their feelings and medical history. If a doctor fails to assess the patient well, within the right time, or misses some signs of a severe condition, the emergency room doctor is liable for the resulting damages. 

Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim

Medical negligence lawsuits differ from other personal injury cases. It requires you to understand the law and the medical field to file a successful claim against the negligent party. You must also be prepared with all the necessary information and evidence to build a solid case against the liable party(s). It is advisable to work alongside a skilled and experienced personal injury attorney. Your attorney will study the facts of your case to advise you on your options and guide you through all legal processes. They will also fight alongside you to protect your rights and for a favorable outcome.

Thus, the first step in filing a medical negligence lawsuit is finding a reliable personal injury attorney. Allow them to start working on the case right after your injury or immediately after you discover the injury. Remember that medical malpractice lawsuits have strict deadlines under the statute of limitations, within which you must bring a lawsuit against the liable party. A skilled attorney can gather evidence and prepare and file the necessary documents within the period. They will also organize meetings with the parties possibly responsible to settle the matter out of court. If that does not work, they will file your case in a civil court and await the judge’s final verdict.

Find a Competent Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

Have you or your loved one suffered a medical-related injury while receiving emergency medical care from an EMT?

Medical liability lawsuits in California can be complicated, especially involving EMTs. EMTs lack adequate financial resources to compensate you for your damages. The EMT employer could also be liable for damages caused by their employee if the EMT was in the line of duty when you suffered the injury. The emergency doctor could also be partly to blame if the injury occurred due to their negligent actions or inactions.

It helps to work alongside a skilled personal injury attorney to understand what the law provides and your options. Your attorney will also streamline the complex legal process for you. They will relentlessly work on your case until you receive your deserved compensation.

Our team at The Personal Injury Attorney Law Firm has all the information and resources to help you fight for compensation in California. We have the skills and experience you need for the best possible outcome. Call us at 800-492-6718 to learn more about your situation and our services.