Why filing a complaint against Kaiser Permanente isn’t worth your time
Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s largest not-for-profit health plans, serving 12.4 million members. Members are usually enrolled in the HMO by their employer. As a member, you do not have a choice in selecting hospitals outside of the Kaiser system or doctors outside of the Permanente medical group.
If you have an issue with the medical treatment and/or care you have received from a specific doctor, nurse, or other health care professional at Kaiser, you will find a complaint form on their website.
While Kaiser states that their goal is to provide the highest possible member satisfaction and that their priority is to resolve every concern or dissatisfaction wherever you receive care, they don’t seem to be able to acknowledge any wrongdoing on their part when faced with well-documented complaints.
Take the case of Kaiser victim, Jupirena Stein. Ms. Stein’s health has literally been ruined by a botched surgical procedure to remove one of her parotid glands. She collected extensive documentation to support her claims of medical negligence over a six year period following her surgery. Instead of acknowledging the fact that the surgeon in question made a devastating medical error, Kaiser claimed that they had no knowledge of any wrongdoing in her case.
This was in spite of the fact that she was repeatedly sent from one Kaiser doctor to another who mis-diagnosed her condition as rare forms of cancer or that it was psychiatric in nature. The reality of her situation is that she has been a victim of a devastating vascular injury, a result of a surgical error.
If you take some time to read complaints about Kaiser online, you’ll discover that filing a complaint against Kaiser Permanente has little chance of producing a positive result. Instead, you need to file a claim for medical malpractice.
Taking legal action instead
Common examples of medical malpractice include:
- Failure to diagnose or misdiagnose
- Unnecessary surgery or other medical treatments
- Surgical errors or wrong site surgery
- Improper medications or dosage
- Injections at the wrong site, using an improperly sterilized needle, or improperly inserted IV’s
- Premature discharge
- Failure to order proper testing
When you sign up for health care with Kaiser, you sign a binding arbitration agreement before being granted membership. If you are considering filing a lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente for medical malpractice, you must go through Kaiser’s arbitration process vs suing a doctor, nurse, or hospital in a court of law.
If you believe that you or a family member have been a victim of medical malpractice that resulted in serious injury or even wrongful death due to negligence on the part of a doctor, nurse, or hospital within the Kaiser system, you need the services of a lawyer who has experience successfully arbitrating, mediating, and settling medical malpractice cases on behalf of Kaiser members.
They might not respond to you, but they will respond to our lawyers
Filing a complaint against Kaiser Permanente is a very frustrating and stressful process that, in many cases, produces little if any positive results for victims of medical negligence. If you want to file a medical malpractice claim, you need to hire an attorney who is familiar with Kaiser’s arbitration process and who will fight aggressively to protect your rights.
In San Diego, the best lawyer to sue Kaiser Permanente is Scott S. Harris. Contact our office to schedule your free consultation.