The Georgia Supreme court was asked on Tuesday to rule on the constitutionality of a Georgia law demanding evidence of “gross negligence” on the part of emergency room doctors in order to sustain a medical malpractice claim. The justices responded with a flurry of questions for the attorney who urged the court to overturn the “ER statute.”
“Somebody who counted said I got 27 questions in 20 minutes,” said an unruffled Michael B. Terry, grinning as he exited the chamber where he sparred against supporters of the law over one narrow issue: Whether the law is an unconstitutional “special law” that benefits only a select portion of the medical community, or whether it properly provides added protection for doctors who provide urgent care for every patient who comes through the door of emergency rooms, often without benefit of medical records or other means to know about a patient’s history.
