Was Your Medical Treatment Delayed at the Hospital?
When a patient seeks medical care at a hospital emergency room, you have the right be treated by qualified professionals in a timely manner. When your treatment is delayed due to professional negligence, it can result in a delayed diagnosis that may cause serious injury or death.
Errors made by any of the following parties may cause an inexcusable treatment delay:
- Emergency room triage official
- Intake physician
- Hospital
- Doctor
- Nurse
- Pharmacist
- Insurance company
- Medical technician
- Laboratory assistant
- The manufacturer of faulty diagnostic equipment
Proving Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a patient is injured through the negligent actions of a doctor, nurse, or any healthcare professional. Negligence is defined as behavior that deviates from profession standards of conduct. The question to ask when determining negligence is: In the same circumstances, would a reasonable practitioner have acted in the same manner?
To win a medical malpractice case against a negligent provider who needlessly delayed your treatment, your medical malpractice attorney must establish the following:
- A professional relationship existed between you and the practitioner.
- The practitioner performed a negligent act that breached the duty of care.
- You suffered harm.
- Your harm was caused by the delayed treatment.
Your medical malpractice attorney will perform a thorough investigation to determine the facts of your case and paint a clear picture of how you were harmed. This investigation will include the following types of information:
- Medical records
- Interviews with hospital staff
- Video surveillance
- Expert medical testimony
- Hospital guidelines and procedures
How Treatment Can Be Delayed
A delay in treatment is caused by a mistake committed by one or more medical personnel. It is the hospital’s responsibility to hire and train enough qualified personnel to perform patient intake responsibilities. If an insurance company needlessly delays the patient’s admittance to a medical facility, this can also harm the patient.
The triage nurse or doctor who’s responsible for admitting patients at an emergency room has extensive training. It’s their job to make sure that patients who need immediate assistance are seen right away. When the necessary treatment is delayed, the results can be devastating.
When a patient seeking medical care is sent to the back of the line by someone who isn’t following standard medical procedures, it may result in medical malpractice. Your medical malpractice attorney will prove that one or more of the following negative outcomes resulted from the delay in treatment you suffered:
- It was followed by a worsening of symptoms
- It reduced the effectiveness of a particular treatment method
- It decreased the effectiveness of the treatment you eventually received
- It caused harm that would not have occurred if you had been treated in a timely manner
- It unduly prolonged your pain
Were You Harmed by Delayed Medical Treatment?
At Leventhal Puga Braley P.C., our attorneys have been recognized for the highest ethical standards and outstanding legal ability by Super Lawyers® and Martindale-Hubbell Top Rated Lawyers®.
We have we have won millions of dollars in settlements for our clients in medical malpractice cases across the country. Call (303) 759-9945 to learn more today.