A Terrible, Needless Death in the Waiting Room
Jon Verrier, 30 years old, checked into the local ER complaining of a rash and was asked to wait. According to hospital officials, his name was called several times and he didn’t answer. After waiting eight hours to see a doctor, Verrier was found dead in a New York emergency room.
So could this have been prevented? And does it count as medical malpractice?
What Happened at the Hospital
With an average wait time of five hours, employees admit the hospital is understaffed.
According to the hospital spokesperson, an in-house review found “all guidelines were met.”
An anonymous employee seems to disagree…
“He was not checked on,” the employee said. “Based on the number of people in the waiting room, it is impossible to check on each person physically.”
Anytime a person goes to the ER now, especially at night, the hospital exercises triage, which is when the patients are prioritized for urgency by the nature of their wounds or illnesses. This is due to a limited number of resources, and in this instance with this hospital, an alleged lack of sufficient staff.
Understanding Medical Malpractice and Insufficient Staff
In general, understaffing is no excuse for malpractice.
The issue becomes who saw him initially when he was checked in. Was this person qualified to determine how urgently this man needed to see a doctor?
If the victim’s family called my office for legal help, I would want to look at the hospital records and see what decisions were made when he first came in. Did the patient go to the counter repeatedly to ask to see a doctor, citing the urgency he felt was needed? I would also want to talk to his relatives to see what his symptoms were.
The question becomes, as always with any kind of medical malpractice/negligence allegations, ”was it outside the standard of care that any other reasonable doctor would have done so differently?” This has to be proven in written documents from qualified medical experts.
In today’s age, it’s probably perfectly reasonable to run a triage-style emergency room, but it’s the question of who makes that decision and if it was the right decision.
Legal Help for Medical Malpractice
If you think you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice, or if you think someone you know has, you should seek legal help immediately.
Medical malpractice is a very serious matter and should never be pursued casually or without proper cause. But if it’s happened to you, you know it can be traumatic. So do we.
Darrell Castle & Associates has a group of experienced personal injury attorneys who will fight on your behalf to help make sure you receive the compensation you deserve. We encourage you to present your medical malpractice case to hospital injury lawyers Memphis, TN families place their confidence in for an evaluation.
If this is you, please contact us today, either online or by calling (901) 327-1212. One of our attorneys will be ready to speak with you, free of charge.