Medical Misdirection Case
Renowned insurance attorney, Brad Levin, recently offered valuable insights into a troubling case involving Aurora resident Darien Peoples. As CBS News Colorado reported, Peoples, a Type I diabetic, found herself in the middle of a potentially life-threatening situation when paramedics refused to take her to the hospital of her choice. It resulted in severe health consequences and substantial out-of-network bills.
Despite a state of diabetic emergency, Peoples was not transported to UCHealth’s University of Colorado Hospital, where she frequently receives treatment. Instead, she was taken to Parker Adventist Hospital, resulting in a delay in receiving necessary medical attention and incurring high out-of-network insurance bills. This occurred despite emergency management experts stating that patient preference should always be a priority unless the hospital is on a divert status due to being too full, a status UCHealth confirmed it was not on that night.
Levin posits that the city could potentially bear the liability for Peoples’ out-of-network expenses. “It sounds to me that there was potential negligence…that would place the blame, the responsibility, on the ambulance company for her ending up in a place she shouldn’t have been,” Levin pointed out, indicating that the problem is not only significant but could have serious legal repercussions.
He also emphasized the need for a deeper investigation to pinpoint what exactly went wrong in Peoples’ case. Levin broadened the discussion to consider the wider implications of the incident, underscoring the necessity for more comprehensive oversight and regulations of ambulance services. “I think that this is a good example, a real prime example of why it is that having regulations in place could help to mitigate against these kinds of things from happening, particularly when you talk about inter-jurisdictional types of issues,” Levin said.
Read more on the story at: https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/aurora-paramedics-uchealth-parker-adventist-ambulance-patient/.
