Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania

Re: Emergency Room Deductable Fee

Charlie -

Please read my disclaimer:

(http://md-jd.info/med-mal.html)

First - make sure that you have sought proper medical followup to determine that your daughter has received all proper treatment and followup for what sounds like a "post-spinal tap" headache.

It sounds like the ER did the right thing - that is - they told you to return for any problems. Once you did return - they were obligated to treat "emergencies". The emergency in this case would have been an untreated meningitis or a life threatening leak of spinal fluid (unlikely).

Once they determined that the "blood patch" was not an "emergency" - they were not obligated to take care of the problem on the same visit, espscillay if they did not have the facilities to address that problem with limited staffing - thus an additional visit, with an additional deductible.

What you are experiencing is the difference between an emergency department - which is obligated to treat the "emergency" and a full service provider - which can consider your budget and try to avoid billing for "extra" visits. The alternative would have been to wait an additional day - NOT A GOOD IDEA - until definitive care could be rendered.

You did the right thing to return when there was any question of whether your daughter's health was at stake. THE ER did what they could with the staffing that was available on the day you presented.

Arthur Newmark