Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania
3 trips and no results but charged for it
Aug 08 sons (13) annual eye appt - everythinig was fine. Nov 08 - annual peditrician appt - test showed 20/100 in his one eye - called Temple eye assoc and Patty nurse looked up file and said my pediatrician was wrong and would fax the correct exam from Aug 08. Feb 09 School nurse called sons eye was 20/100 called got Patty again who said she remembered and that the nurse was wrong too...I asked her to please stop and asked if we could have another appt...long story short 3/16 son now needed glasses that still did not work - received a letter throwing us out of the practice and my husband and I were mean (not true) made an appt in Philadelphia (-30 miles) got there, signed in, waited an hr was then told they refused to see son and no explanation..alot more fill in but not enough room also attack3ed our character and not true...please help
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: 3 trips and no results but charged for it
You need to resolve why your son�s vision had changed from �fine� to 20/100 AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. (Whether this requires Urgent referral from a primary care doctor, OR showing up in an Emergency Room if you can�t get a timely referral).
It seems that you have reason to question whether Temple Eye Associates will give you the answers you need in a timely manner.
We have two major Eye Hospitals in Philadelphia: Scheie and Will�s Eye.
If there was a delayed diagnosis that resulted in irreversible vision loss, then one or more of the actors involved could have committed malpractice.
There is something missing from your story.
Was your son seeing Temple Eye Associates for a known problem?
As far as your rights are concerned, you are entitled to notice if a practice wants to discontinue the relationship. (You can report this to the State Board of Medicine).
Under the circumstances, they are risking malpractice, in addition to violating state law, if they abandoned your son without making timely arrangements to determine why his vision had worsened in this short time.