Patient Dumping

Emergency rooms often deny treatment to patients in a critical condition, even when they are not supposed to. ERs are required to conduct a medical screening examination before discharging patients. Due to lack of available space, or overburdened staff not appropriately treating patients, however, ERs often do not log patients into their systems. This, however, has not prevented courts from finding them guilty of patient dumping.

If you or someone you know was refused treatment by a hospital in an emergency situation, or if you were discharged without a proper evaluation, you may have been the victim of medical malpractice. Hospitals exist to help the sick and injured when they need it most, and if you were refused treatment by a hospital's ER, you may be able to secure compensation for any harm you suffered due to your lack of treatment.

Emergency rooms can only discharge patients to other hospitals if patients are in stable condition, or if the patient requests to be transferred to a different hospital. However, untrained staff, or hospitals that follow incorrect policies and habits end up sending patients to other hospitals due to:

Lack of space
Lack of appropriate health insurance
Lack of trauma care equipment
Misdiagnosis

Medical emergencies are a special area of the healthcare field, and refusing treatment can cause innocent patients tremendous damage. Those who have been injured by this form of negligence should not hesitate to pursue justice.

A lack of timely treatment can result in serious health consequences for an innocent patient, and may require him or her to receive extensive medical attention in the future that he or she may have been able to avoid if they were properly treated upon their initial visit. This type of negligence should not go unpunished.

If you or someone you know has suffered injuries due to the emergency room negligence, or refusal of treatment, contact the Kankakee medical malpractice attorneys of Spiros Law, P.C. to find out more about your rights, and possible legal remedies you might be able to pursue.