Emergency Medical Treatment: Know Your Rights

As malpractice attorneys, we have seen far too many cases of medical negligence. We therefore believe it is crucial for our clients, as patients and health care consumers, to know their rights in seeking emergency treatment.

Because hospital emergency rooms move at a fast pace, we suggest you become familiar with your health care plan before you need to utilize its emergency provisions. You want to be sure that you understand and receive all the emergency care and treatment benefits the contract permits. Moreover, you should know that patients always have the right to:

• Get the names of emergency care providers;
• Receive timely medical care from physicians in appropriate emergency settings;
• Obtain treatment with concern and respect, regardless of age, race, religion, or other factors;
• Understand all care, including diagnosis, treatment, and medical consequences;
  
• Be assured of medical record access, confidentiality, and release approval; and
  
• Comment, complain, and seek redress when care doesn’t meet your expectations.
  

Redress

When a woman who experienced a ruptured ectopic pregnancy died after an emergency room physician misdiagnosed her condition as a urinary tract infection, her husband and parents - acting as her estate's administrators and children's guardians - sued for failed diagnosis. Their lawyer earned a settlement and verdict for the estate.