The doctor/patient relationship is critical to your health. Once a doctor has agreed to treat you and assumed responsibility for your care, they have an obligation to provide appropriate follow-up.
Failure to provide follow-up care in Connecticut can be a breach of the doctor’s legal and ethical duties. If your physician refuses treatment without properly discharging you as a patient, you could bring a malpractice claim against them.
When you believe your doctor has wrongfully failed to provide the continuous care you need, contact one of the seasoned medical malpractice lawyers at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC. They will review your situation to determine whether your doctor breached a legal or ethical duty to provide follow-up care and substantially harmed you as a result. If so, they will help you pursue compensation.
The first step in any action against a physician is establishing that a doctor/patient relationship existed. Although it may seem obvious, this can be a complicated question.
When you make an appointment to see the physician in their office and they examine you there, you likely have a doctor/patient relationship. Although paying for medical services is evidence of this, it is possible to have a doctor/patient relationship even when the doctor does not charge.
The American Medical Association’s ethical guidelines state that a doctor/patient relationship is established when a doctor examines, diagnoses, treats, or agrees to treat the patient. According to Connecticut General Statutes § 19a-906, it is possible to establish a doctor/patient remotely via telehealth technology. Once the relationship is established by whatever means, the doctor has a duty to provide treatment or properly terminate the relationship.
A doctor is not obligated to see every patient that wants their services. However, once the doctor/patient relationship is established, the doctor must take specific steps to end it. Until those steps are complete, the doctor has a legal duty to provide the necessary treatment.
Doctors cannot refuse to see a patient because of the patient’s race, religion, or ethnicity. Almost any other reason for terminating the doctor/patient relationship is acceptable. A doctor can discharge a patient for:
A doctor could also discharge a patient if they feel they do not have the expertise to properly address the patient’s medical needs, if the doctor joins a new practice, relocates, retires, or closes their practice for another reason.
When a patient needs follow-up care, the physician has an obligation to provide it. They can still discharge the patient for an appropriate reason, but they must allow the patient adequate time to find a provider. In the meantime, the original treating physician must continue to provide the necessary follow-up.
When a doctor fails to properly discharge a patient but refuses to treat them, the doctor might be negligent. Medical negligence happens when a medical professional does not render care in alignment with the standards of other doctors in the community. Because refusing care without properly discharging the patient is a breach of the doctor’s obligation in Connecticut, it could be negligent.
Our attorneys at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC will review your recollections and medical records to determine whether your doctor provided adequate discharge notice before refusing to treat you. We must also find evidence that you suffered substantial harm because of the doctor’s failure to provide follow-up care.
When a Connecticut lawyer can prove that a doctor negligently failed to provide follow-up care, the doctor could be liable for your losses. These would include the cost of medical treatment necessary because of the doctor’s refusal, time missed at work, incidental expenses, and compensation for your pain and suffering.
Doctors have the right to refuse care, but only in certain circumstances. A failure to provide follow-up care in Connecticut can be medical malpractice if you suffer substantial harm because your doctor wouldn’t see or treat you.
Talk to the lawyers at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, about your legal options. Reach out today to schedule a free consultation. We can meet in person at our office or, if you prefer, conduct the consultation remotely. Get started today.
