Doctors vow to provide patients with the best possible care. Any deviation from the accepted medical standard of care is considered medical negligence or medical malpractice. In an emergency room in California, one doctor failed miserably at her job of caring for others. And now one patient is considering legal action against the hospital that employs her.
Unacceptable Emergency Room Error
Dr. Beth Keegstra, an ER doctor at El Camino Hospital, was caught on video mocking and cursing at 20-year-old patient Samuel Bardwell who said he had suffered an anxiety attack. “I’m sorry, sir. You were the least sick of all the people who are here, who are dying,” she says in a video taken by Bardwell’s father that has been viewed over four million times.
When Bardwell complained that he could not inhale, Keegstra responded, “He can’t inhale! Wow! He must be dead. Are you dead, sir? I don’t understand. You are breathing just fine.” And later, “You have changed your story the whole f***ing time.”
This heinous behavior has led to Keegstra’s suspension, an outraged community, and the possibility of lawsuits for medical negligence against the doctor and the hospital.
An Insufficient Apology
Emergency rooms are high-stress environments. Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel are on constant alert and know they must be prepared to handle whatever comes through their doors. Sometimes emergency rooms aren’t chaotic, but they are busy and, as a result, staff may be pulled in many different directions. However, substandard care is never acceptable, no matter what the circumstances.
El Camino Hospital made a statement deeming Keegstra’s demeanor as “unprofessional and not the standard we require of all who provide care. Please be assured that this recent interaction is not reflective of the care and services our over 3,000 dedicated caregivers provide every single day.” Apparently, the doctor has been removed from a list of approved physicians who practice emergency care at the hospital.
Emergency room errors can and do happen, and apologies are important, but sometimes they’re just not enough, especially when it comes to life or death situations.
Suing for Justice, and to Protect Others
Medical malpractice lawsuits are not only important to capture justice for a person or family that has suffered at the hands of an incompetent, neglectful, distracted, or unprofessional healthcare provider. The lawsuits shed light on a serious problem and warn others about the same kind of poor treatment.
The last thing any patient who has been mistreated at the hands of a medical professional would want is to find out that others have suffered in the same way. There is no room for failure in medicine. It’s a high-risk field, and a critical field. The responsibility laid upon doctors and nurses and their peers is massive. And by filing a lawsuit when you have endured poor medical care, you potentially save hundreds of others from similar experiences.
If you have been a victim of an emergency room error, medical negligence, or medical malpractice, contact Thurswell Law for a free consultation with one of our experienced, knowledgeable, and successful attorneys. We do not charge any fees unless you collect. Call (248) 354-2222 today.
