Medical Negligence and Hazards at Urgent Care Centers

If there is a strip mall near you, chances are good that it includes an Urgent Care facility. These are free-standing medical centers that operate as a hybrid between an emergency room and health clinic. Designed to treat patients with acute medical conditions and minor traumas. They do not serve patients with serious, life-threatening conditions. For a parent who is unable to get an appointment with their child’s regular doctor to get immunizations before school starts, to set a broken ankle after an injury on the soccer field, Urgent Care centers are convenient, and they are far more affordable and with a much shorter wait than the emergency department at the local hospital.

Examples of urgent care centers in the Washington, D.C. area include:

• Metro Immediate & Primary Care
• MedStar Prompt Care – Capitol Hill
• Farragut Medical & Travel Care
• MetroHealth
• Doctors To You

Do’s and Don’ts of Urgent Care Centers for walk-in medical care

These conveniently located medical care facilities fill a specific need in the health care community. When it comes to making use of urgent care centers, do visit them when:

• You are unable to get in to see your regular doctor right away
• You suffer a minor injury such as a broken bone, a burn or a cut that needs stitching up
• Your child need immunizations for school or summer camp

Do not consider an urgent care facility under the following circumstances:

• You think you might be having a heart attack or stroke
• You have suffered a serious injury
• You have a life-threatening health condition or injury

Medical negligence at Urgent Care Centers

Given that Urgent Care Centers are like a free-standing medical office and emergency room, any kind of medical mistake can take place at a UCC. Here are some examples:

• Diagnostic errors
• Prescription errors
• Failure to treat/ delayed treatment
• Clerical and communication errors
• Surgical errors

Patients who suffer an injury at the hands of a doctor or other medical professional at an Urgent Care clinic may be able to take legal action against the person responsible. The burden of proof is with the injured patient to provide evidence to support their claim that the medical professional’s negligence in their failure to comport with the accepted standard of care caused our injury and other losses.

Please contact Paulson & Nace, PLLC through this contact form or by calling 202-463-1999