Jarome E. Gautreaux is a partner at Gautreaux & Sizemore in Macon. He is the former president of the Middle Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and an adjunct professor at Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. He may be reached at 478- 238-9758 or by email at jarome@gstrial­lawyers.com.

If the goal of the 2005 tort “reform” law was to discourage lawyers from helping victims of substandard emergency room care, it has been successful. While I haven't seen definitive data, most plaintiffs lawyers I know are reluctant to take ER cases.

The 2005 law protects ERs by requiring many potential plaintiffs to show “clear and convincing” evidence of “gross negligence,” which the courts have defined as “failure to exercise even a slight degree of care” and “lack of the diligence that even careless men are accustomed to exercise.”

That's a high bar. I've had to turn away grievously injured clients who came to me for help. But I also believe that lawyers may be too quick to dismiss some of these clients. There are circumstances under which ERs can be held accountable.