Mother Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Urgent Care

A New Orleans mother filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in December 2014 against an urgent care facility claiming the facility’s negligence resulted in the wrongful death of her daughter, the Louisiana Record reported.  The health care providers at East After Hours were not proficient in evaluating and caring for Lacey’s daughter. She filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic claiming the negligent treatment resulted in the death of her daughter, according to the Louisiana Record.

Belinda Lacey brought her daughter to East After Hours Urgent Care in January 2012 with complaints of nausea and vomiting. The child was diagnosed with a gastric infection, prescribed anti-nausea medication and sent home. The next day, Lacy returned to the clinic with her daughter who was unresponsive and without a pulse. The clinic performed CPR then transferred the child to Tulane Medical Center where she died. In the complaint, Lacey’s medical malpractice lawyers allege that the clinic failed to perform lab work, which would have indicated the child had high glucose and potassium levels, and that the clinic’s failure to establish an IV site prevented the patient from receiving resuscitation medications.

An estimated three million patients visit an urgent care center each week, according to Kaiser Health News. The American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine (AAUCM) defines these emergency room alternatives as “the provision of immediate medical service offering outpatient care for the treatment of acute and chronic illness and injury.”

AAUCM believes that, “Because urgent care practitioners are on the “front lines” of medicine, they need to be proficient in evaluating and caring for – at least initially – any patient who walks into an urgent care medicine center or urgent care clinic.”

Lacey is also seeking compensation for funeral expenses and mental anguish.

In Pennsylvania there are now numerous urgent care centers treating thousands of patients yearly.  If you or a loved one suffered harm due to not being treated properly at an urgent care center, the attorneys at Anapol Schwartz have experience evaluating whether the medical care provided was proper and safe and whether it caused your injuries.