A mother frantically rushed her 9-year old son into the emergency room because he was experiencing sharp pains in his abdomen. She was unsure what it was as she attempted to relieve the pain with natural methods like chamomile tea, but with no success. As she took him to the hospital and explained her concern, they told her to sit down and wait, all while her son is in severe pain. A nurse came out and looked at her son and dismissed his symptoms for another condition, but they soon learned that the boy was experiencing something much more severe: appendicitis. It was busted and he was in immediate need of surgery. This delay created additional harm because had they seen him at that time, the boy would not have been in a life-threatening situation.
Moments like these can occur in a medical setting, and they do. Patients are often being delayed treatment for a number of reasons. When a patient is delayed a treatment that they need because of medical negligence by a healthcare practitioner, they may be entitled to file a lawsuit against those liable with a qualifying medical malpractice lawyer for delayed treatment in West Palm Beach. Medical providers cannot always go by what they “see” is occurring, they need to reach the bottom of the problem by performing tests and necessary diagnostic.
Why Are Patients Being Delayed Treatment?
Many instances in a health care providers practice can cause a delayed treatment of a patient. Here are some scenarios that can lead to it:
- Confusing symptoms that patient is having
- Not providing the patient with all possible examinations
- Mix-up of medical charts
- Physician unable to determine medical condition that their patient has
- Lack of healthcare
- Miscommunication amongst medical team
Data on Delayed Treatment
- Emergency rooms tend to be the departments with the most delayed treatment cases
- For every 10 tests that are ordered, 3 will have to be redone because results are not conclusive
- Medical professionals do not find the medical chart of their patients in 30% of visits
You Are Entitled to Swift Treatment
Being delayed treatment can be lethal. In fact, for patients differing from severe conditions like cancer, a delay in treatment could end their life. All necessary evidence and documents can be retrieved with the help of a West Palm Beach lawyer of Percy Martinez Law Firm that focuses on treatment delays when medical negligence has been practiced. The validity of the case will depend greatly on the lawyer’s capability of proving causation. Facing a medical malpractice is hard in itself, but having no guidance as to what to do is even worse. The firm is there for their clients.