When a patient visits a hospital emergency room, the medical staff is supposed to recognize an emergency and take the proper medical action to treat the emergency.
It is when doctors and other medical professionals fail to recognize clear signs of an emergency that a strong argument can be made that they failed to give the patient good and proper medical care.
For example, an overweight woman in her 40’s presented herself to the emergency room complaining of chest pains.
The emergency room department took a proper history of the patient and did all of the proper things to get her prepped for the doctor.
When the doctor saw the patient the doctor ordered an EKG to be done.
The EKG revealed that the woman was not getting oxygen to her heart.
A strong argument was made that the doctor violated the applicable standard of care in this situation.
The reason being was that the doctor, under the facts presented, should have hospitalized the patient and order more tests, such as X-Rays.
What the doctor decided to do instead was give the woman a nitroglycerin patch and a prescription for nitroglycerin.
The doctor then sent the woman home.
The problem was though that the woman should have never been sent home in the condition that she was in.
When she did get back home she began to have more chest pains.
A couple of hours later she was rushed back to the emergency room having suffered a massive heart attack.
Based on the patient’s history and EKG, she should have never been allowed to leave the emergency room.
To learn more about this process, or to speak with someone regarding your possible Maryland medical malpractice case, this is what we invite you to do.
Pick up the phone and give us a call.
We can be reached at 301-850-4832.
It costs nothing to call us, get your questions answered, and have less worry about your situation.
We answer medical malpractice questions like yours all the time and we would be happy to listen to your story.
