Negligence per se , standard of care, supervision Originality is a trait that is as rare in many trial lawyers as it is in television programming executives. The trial of any case is difficult, and the trial of anesthesia malpractice cases is especially difficult because nurse anesthetists are professionals. That is, they are one of a group of occupations which requires education and skills not possessed by ordinary citizens. When a patient is hurt in the course of an anesthetic, the patient may recover damages from the anesthetist if the anesthetist was negligent.
Ordinary citizens have no way of knowing whether the anesthetist was negligent.
The question is whether the nurse anesthetist exercised that degree of care which an ordinary nurse anesthetist would have exercised in similar circumstances. Expert testimony must be offered as to what the level of care is. This makes the trial of malpractice cases difficult and demanding. The trial lawyer must obtain testimony as to the standard of care, obtain and present evidence that the standard of care was breached by the anesthetist, and present the evidence to a jury in a manner which will be understandable and comprehensible. In many cases the issues are complex and difficult.