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MR. IRA SLAVIT: At Levine & Slavit, amongst the medical malpractice cases that we handle are cases involving improper treatment rendered at emergency rooms in hospital. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the wait time for patients to be seen by a doctor in emergency rooms has increased 36% from 1997 to 2004, an increase of an approximate 22 minutes to 30 minutes.

Obviously, the longer someone waits before being treated, the more at risk they are for complications or not getting the treatment and possibly even dying, particularly since these statistics apply even to heart attack patients.

In addition to pursuing a traditional state law medical malpractice claim, there is a federal law that also provides relief to patients in emergency rooms who are not treated properly. The law is called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. It requires hospital personnel at the emergency room to be sure that there's no emergency situation and if so, the hospital cannot dump the patient off to a different hospital.

At Levine & Slavit, if you've been involved in this situation at an emergency room, we will endeavor to pursue your rights not just under state malpractice laws, but under the federal law as well.