Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

According to news reports, a Frankford man died while waiting to see a doctor in a Philadelphia hospital emergency room. The experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff and Bily send their hearts and prayers to the family of Joaquin Rivera, age 63, who went into distress according to records at 10:56 p.m. He was struggling to breathe, brought his hand to his chest, and then fell still in his seat only to have his watch stolen 39 minutes later by one of the other emergency room occupants. Approximately 50 minutes after Mr. Rivera stopped moving, hospital personnel noticed that he appeared to be dead a witness in the waiting room told the police. According to news reports, Mr. Rivera came to the hospital emergency room complaining of symptoms and pains in his arm and when he appeared to be dying had his hands over his chest which would indicate that he was having chest pains. The family of Mr. Rivera would be well advised to seek the services of an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer as it appears that hospital personnel did not act in accordance with emergency standards of procedure and care for someone who comes into the hospital with such symptomology. This case should be fully investigated by the State Department of Health, the hospital, police department and a medical malpractice lawyer who is well versed in this area of the law. According to news sources, a similar event happened in November 2007 when a woman also complaining of chest pains and had received an abnormal EKG also died in the emergency room’s waiting area.

From my own personal standpoint, I just visited a well known local hospital emergency room with my father who was gravely ill and was astounded by how crowded and understaffed the same was. Had I not been forceful or insistent for rapid and proper care on behalf of my parent, a tragic outcome most likely would have occurred.

Hospital emergency room malpractice and errors are all too frequent occurrences. Over 250,000 people die each year from emergency room errors in the U.S. This tragic and unfortunate situation illustrates that malpractice in an emergency room often leads to tragic and fatal results. Delays in treatment or care can result in serious and permanent injuries or fatalities. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury or death due to hospital emergency room negligence, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation.