Pediatric Emergency Department Malpractice Fast-Triage: How to Find (or Rule Out) the Case in the Chart

Dr. Ayush Gupta | The Pediatric Expert

Ayush Gupta, MD, is a dual board-certified physician in Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine who serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at LSU Health New Orleans while maintaining an active clinical practice at several children’s hospitals. In his daily work, he manages complex and high-acuity pediatric emergencies, bringing frontline insight into critical care decision-making and diagnostic challenges. Over the past decade, Dr. Gupta has also assisted attorneys nationwide as an expert witness in cases involving missed diagnoses, pediatric deaths, sexual abuse, injuries, and non-accidental trauma, offering medical clarity in high-stakes litigation. Motivated by frequent inquiries from attorneys seeking guidance on whether to pursue pediatric cases, he developed a CLE program to help legal professionals better evaluate and understand these matters from a medical perspective.

• Education & Credentials

Dr. Gupta is dual board-certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine and serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at LSU Health New Orleans. His credentials reflect advanced specialization in the diagnosis and management of pediatric emergencies, supported by his ongoing academic and clinical roles.

• Recognition & Leadership

In addition to his clinical and academic responsibilities, Dr. Gupta contributes to the medical and legal communities through his work as a national expert witness. His leadership is reflected in his role as an educator at LSU Health New Orleans and in his efforts to guide attorneys in evaluating pediatric cases through continuing legal education initiatives.

• Professional Involvement

Dr. Gupta maintains active clinical practice at several children’s hospitals, where he treats complex and time-sensitive pediatric emergencies. He also collaborates with attorneys across the country, providing expert analysis in cases involving missed diagnoses, birth injuries, and non-accidental trauma.

• Experience

With more than a decade of experience assisting attorneys nationwide, Dr. Gupta has provided expert witness services in matters involving pediatric emergency care, diagnostic decision-making, and trauma. His daily clinical practice in high-acuity settings informs his opinions and supports his ability to translate complex medical issues into clear, practical guidance for legal professionals.

I. How Pediatric Cases Differ from Adult Cases | 1:00pm – 1:15pm

This segment explores the critical clinical and legal distinctions between pediatric and adult emergency care, including how communication barriers, developmental differences, and reliance on caregivers impact evaluation and documentation. It will highlight why certain pediatric presentations repeatedly generate claims and identify the specific “risk flags” that should immediately guide and prioritize your record review.

II. The Trouble with Tickets | 1:15pm – 1:30pm

Attendees will learn a structured, step-by-step method for extracting the key narrative from complex medical records, focusing on timestamps, vital sign trends, reassessments, evolving differentials, consults, escalation decisions, and discharge reasoning. The session emphasizes how to efficiently build a clear and defensible timeline without getting overwhelmed by volume or irrelevant details.

III. Diagnostic Pitfalls That Most Often Create Liability in Pediatrics | 1:30pm – 1:45pm

This portion focuses on the high-risk clinical scenarios that most frequently lead to liability, including evolving infections, missed surgical emergencies, and time-sensitive pediatric conditions. It will demonstrate how “missed deterioration” and cognitive or system errors appear in the record, and how these patterns translate into potential breaches of care.

IV. Translating Red Flags into Litigation Strategy: Standard of Care, Causation, and Experts | 1:45pm – 2:00pm

This segment bridges medical analysis with legal strategy by showing how to turn identified red flags into actionable case theories. Attendees will learn how to frame precise standard-of-care questions, conduct early causation analysis, and develop a targeted expert strategy, including how to select the right experts and avoid common pitfalls in deposition and trial.