Failure to Treat

Failure to Treat Attorney in San Francisco

Registered Nurse-Led Review of Delayed or Withheld Care

When a doctor or hospital fails to act on clear warning signs, delays diagnosis, or ignores abnormal test results, the consequences can be devastating. If you suspect that a medical provider’s inaction caused serious harm, you may be looking for a failure to treat attorney who truly understands both medicine and the law.

We know you may be grieving, caring for an injured loved one, or trying to manage your own recovery while bills and questions pile up. You may not know exactly what went wrong, only that something should have been done sooner. Our role is to review what happened and evaluate whether you have a potential medical malpractice claim.

At Peterson Injury Law, we focus our practice on serious medical malpractice and high-stakes injury cases in California. Our firm has recovered more than $200 million for clients, including the highest medical malpractice settlement in California history, and we bring more than 30 years of litigation experience to each case we accept.

A Registered Nurse leads our intake process, helping us identify the symptoms, abnormal results, treatment orders, provider communications, and missed opportunities that may require closer investigation. This clinical perspective is particularly important when determining whether a provider failed to monitor a worsening condition, delayed a referral, discharged a patient prematurely, or didn’t respond to a known treatment need.

Contact our San Francisco failure to treat lawyer by calling (415) 630-2913 today!

Focused Representation for Serious Medical Harm

Families come to us when the medicine is complex, the harm is life-changing, and they cannot risk being treated like one file among many. We intentionally limit the number of cases we handle so we can devote the time, resources, and attention that serious failure to treat cases demand.

The cases we accept for people harmed by medical negligence and catastrophic injury often involve profound losses and significant future care needs.

We have built our practice around life-altering injuries in areas such as birth injury, diagnostic failure, infectious disease, pediatric harm, anesthesia error, and Kaiser arbitration. Many failure to treat events arise in these same settings, for example when an infection goes unmanaged, a referral is delayed, or a child’s symptoms are overlooked in a busy emergency department.

Our goal is twofold. We work to secure the resources clients may need for long-term care, therapy, and stability, and we strive to hold medical institutions accountable when preventable harm occurs. Throughout the process, we communicate in plain language, outline expectations early, and remain honest about risks and timelines.

Common Failure to Treat Patterns

This can occur in hospitals, clinics, primary care practices, physician offices, and emergency departments serving San Francisco residents. A provider may fail to follow up on abnormal laboratory results, discharge a patient whose symptoms required continued observation, delay critical imaging, fail to administer ordered medication, or leave a patient without necessary follow-up care.

Common patterns that may warrant review include:

Failing to treat an infection until it develops into sepsis or causes additional harm.
Overlooking signs of stroke or heart attack during emergency department care.
Failing to respond when vital signs, pain, laboratory values, or neurological symptoms deteriorate.
Delaying a referral despite symptoms that call for evaluation by an appropriate physician.
Failing to act on recommendations, test results, or treatment orders documented in the medical record.
Discharging a patient without necessary treatment, follow-up arrangements, or escalation instructions.

Electronic records may show that abnormal test results were posted but never acknowledged, or that nurses repeatedly documented concerning symptoms without a timely physician response. In other situations, a primary care provider may receive consultation recommendations but fail to implement them, leaving the patient without necessary treatment.

Failure to Treat vs. Delayed Diagnosis

A delayed diagnosis concerns whether a condition was identified within an appropriate period. Failure to treat focuses on the response after a condition or treatment need became known or reasonably should have been recognized. The two can overlap, but they raise different questions about what information providers had, when they had it, and what they did next.

Standard of Care, Causation & Harm

Legally, these cases generally involve the “standard of care,” meaning what a reasonably careful provider would have done under the same or similar circumstances. A claim typically requires evidence of a duty to the patient, care that fell below the applicable standard, causation, and resulting damages.

Causation is the connection between the medical omission and the patient’s injury. It isn’t enough to establish that treatment was delayed. The review must also consider whether timely care probably would have prevented the injury, reduced its severity, or improved the likely outcome.

How We Investigate Failure to Treat Claims

Nurse-Led Intake & Clinical History

When you contact us, a Registered Nurse begins by listening to the story, clarifying symptoms, timelines, and what the family was told by providers. This initial history helps us identify which records, treatment decisions, and communications may require further review.

We then gather relevant medical records, including emergency department charts, clinic notes, test results, imaging, and communications between providers. Depending on the facts, the review may also include nursing documentation, medication administration records, discharge instructions, referrals, portal messages, consultation recommendations, and records of later treatment.

Timeline Reconstruction

Our team works to reconstruct a clear timeline of events. This often includes identifying when symptoms first appeared, when the patient sought care, which tests were ordered, when results became available, and what actions were or weren’t taken at each point. We also examine whether treatment orders were carried out, worsening findings were escalated, and follow-up responsibilities were clearly assigned.

In many cases, we consult with carefully selected medical professionals who can address whether the condition was identifiable, what response was indicated, and whether earlier treatment probably would have reduced the harm. That analysis helps us evaluate the standard of care and causation rather than assuming that every delay supports a claim.

Institutional Defendants & Kaiser Arbitration

These cases may involve large hospital systems, corporate medical groups, or health maintenance organizations that serve patients in this area. Multiple providers, departments, policies, and record systems may need to be evaluated together. Potential defendants depend on the facts, provider relationships, and responsibility for the treatment decision at issue.

We have substantial experience handling matters against institutional defendants and within systems such as Kaiser arbitration. A health-plan agreement may determine whether a dispute proceeds through arbitration rather than a traditional civil lawsuit, and the applicable notice rules, deadlines, and procedures can differ. We examine the governing documents and facts before determining the appropriate forum.

Litigation Preparation & Client Guidance

We organize the evidence and anticipate potential defenses from the beginning. If a matter proceeds, we guide clients step by step through discovery, depositions, mediation, settlement discussions, and possible trial or arbitration.

Throughout discovery and depositions, we prepare our clients for what to expect, explain legal terms in everyday language, and remain available to answer questions. We know that participation in a lawsuit can feel daunting, particularly when you’re still coping with medical issues or grief, so we work to make each step as clear and predictable as possible.

Information to Preserve for a Case Review

Steps you can take to help us evaluate a possible claim include:

Writing down the dates of symptoms, calls, appointments, tests, results, discharges, referrals, medication changes, and later diagnoses.
Keeping copies of discharge instructions, prescriptions, referral notes, and other documents received from providers.
Preserving messages and portal communications in their original form without altering their contents.
Noting the names and roles of the doctors, nurses, clinics, departments, and other providers involved.
Recording what providers said about test results, treatment decisions, follow-up care, and changes in the patient’s condition.
Seeking appropriate ongoing medical care and second opinions when needed.

Urgent medical symptoms should be addressed by a healthcare provider and shouldn’t be delayed for a legal evaluation. We recognize that no two cases are the same. Factors such as the underlying condition, the patient’s health before the event, and the specific provider’s role all affect how a case is evaluated.

$3.75 Million Anesthesia Error
$6.25 Million Anoxic Brain Injury, Anesthesia Error
Record-Setting $17 Million Birth Injury Settlement

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“Working with Erik Peterson was an exceptional experience during one of the most difficult times in our lives. As we faced shock and a maze of medical decisions, Erik seamlessly took on our medical malpractice case with professionalism, compassion, and deep expertise. From our very first conversation, it was clear that Erik had both the knowledge and the sensitivity to guide us through the process with integrity. Erik ultimately secured a settlement that protected our financial future and gave us peace of mind to focus our energy on healing and recovery. We are profoundly grateful for his guidance and advocacy, and we cannot recommend Erik and his team highly enough.”

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He was always truthful and honest but also caring.
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“Thank you Erik for winning our case! Erik and his team are superb. If you are in need of his attorney services, it is likely, like myself, that you are experiencing one of the most traumatic and painful times of your life. Of course you want an excellent lawyer - and he is it. The bonus: he is also a genuinely real and kind human being. I am so grateful to him and his team.”

- Margaret C.
Erik Peterson handled my case with care and compassion.
“His knowledge and attention to detail was stellar, making me feel secure during a difficult case. Unlike most people in life, he was always upfront with me and kept me updated every step of the way, which is truly not what I was expecting from a lawyer. Although it was determined my case could take several years, especially during a pandemic, due to his dedication it was over in only 2yrs and made the process as easy for me as possible. I would absolutely recommend this firm and use him again if I ever need to, although I hope I don't.”

- Kristy N.
This whole experience can be overwhelming but Erik kept me in the loop on everything.
“My husband passed due to medical malpractice and I didn't know what to do or who to call. All I knew was I needed to get him justice. I researched and found Erik Peterson on google and reviewed various reviews on various sites. He was very patient and fought for me and my late husband. Erik told me what to expect ahead of time so I could prepare myself mentally. All in all, I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone who may need legal assistance in personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death. They are excellent and I can't say enough good things about them.”

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California Deadlines for Failure to Treat Claims

California law imposes strict time limits on medical malpractice claims, so it’s important to seek legal guidance as soon as you’re able. Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5, these claims are generally subject to the earlier of one year after discovery of the injury or three years after the injury, but exceptions and other rules may change the applicable deadline. Discovery, the patient’s age, concealment, foreign objects, the provider relationship, and other case-specific facts can affect the analysis.

California law may also require written notice to a healthcare provider at least 90 days before filing a lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure section 364. Arbitration agreements and health-plan terms can create additional procedural considerations. Because general deadline information can’t resolve an individual matter, prompt review is important.

Request a Direct, Honest Case Assessment

You don’t need to have every record or answer before reaching out. A conversation with us can help clarify whether your situation appears consistent with negligence and what the next steps might be.

At Peterson Injury Law, we offer free consultations and work on a contingency-fee basis. You don’t pay us upfront, and our fee is collected only if there is a financial recovery. This structure allows families to access representation without taking on additional financial strain at an already difficult time.

Call (415) 630-2913 to speak with our team about a potential failure to treat case in San Francisco.

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