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Elderly patients and those with disabilities may not always be able to make it to their doctor or therapist appointments on their own, and often rely on medical transport companies for assistance. These companies are responsible for the safe transport of their clients to their destinations and may be held liable for any injuries that result from an accident or inadequate treatment. The Chicago medical transport liability attorneys of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers are aggressive defenders of victims’ rights when their injuries are due to the negligent or irresponsible behavior of those tasked with providing them with care and service.
Most people associate medical transport services with emergency care, but ambulatory services-- such as medical transport vans, buses and ambulances-- can be used for a wide variety of reasons. Patients can utilize the services of these companies for the following.
- Regularly scheduled doctor’s visits— ambulatory services can be used to help elderly and disabled patients see their doctors when needed for regular checkups if their families are unable to drive them or they do not have access to any other form of assistance.
- Urgent care— non-emergency urgent care can be classified as any injury or condition that needs immediate medical attention, but is not life threatening. This can include cases in which the patient fell and broke a bone, suffers from a non-life threatening illness or other medical concern that requires attention within hours.
- X-rays and imaging scans— if the patient requires an x-ray or imaging scan and cannot make it to the appointment on his or her own accord, ambulatory services provide a method for the patient to make it to the appointment and back home again.
- Physical therapy and outpatient procedures— medical transport services can assist elderly and disabled patients who are unable to walk without assistance due to an injury make it to physical therapy sessions. Those requiring outpatient care such as dialysis and other procedures may also rely on these services.
The employees tasked with transporting patients are responsible for assisting each patient from door to door. This means that from the moment the patient leaves his or her door step until he or she has arrived at the intended destination, the ambulatory service is responsible for his or her well being. Following are some of the ways that patients can be injured by negligent medical transport employees.
- The driver has an auto accident that results in injuries to the patient. If the driver is found to be at fault, he or she and the transport company may both be held liable for any resulting damages.
- The patient is injured due to improper chair lift use. It is important that transport company employees know how to use chair lifts in a safe manner and do so with caution to ensure that patients do not fall and are not harmed by the lifts’ moving parts.
- Failing to secure a wheelchair. Whenever a wheelchair is not in motion, the brakes should be applied in order to ensure that it does not roll and move outside of the caregivers’ control. Wheelchairs must also be properly secured inside of the vehicle in order to keep the patient from being tossed around.
- Negligence during the transfer to or from a wheelchair. When transferring a patient into or out of a wheelchair, the transport employee must provide adequate supervision and attention in order to help the patient in and out of the chair without falling. The failure to do so may result in serious injury.
- Neglecting the patient. There are some cases where the transport employee leaves the patient outside in inclement weather or in a dangerous location. It is the responsibility of these employees to consider their patients’ safety at all times and leaving them in dangerous environments is unacceptable.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago medical transport accident, you may be entitled to recover compensation for the value or you or your loved one’s medical bills, out of pocket expenses, pain and suffering and more. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers has been providing award winning legal services to the injured for many years and our lawyers have the experience, knowledge and proven track record needed to ensure that you recover every bit of compensation to which you are entitled.
Contact us today to arrange a free consultation with a Chicago medical transport liability attorney so that we can review the details of your case and let you know more about your rights and legal options. In order to provide top quality services to people from all walks of life and regardless of their financial health, our attorneys work solely on a contingency fee basis. This means that we will only receive a fee once we have recovered damages on your behalf and if we fail to do so, our services will be free of charge.
