Patient First is one of the leading full service, walk-in medical care providers in the Mid-Atlantic. Patient First physicians provide both urgent care and primary care to walk-in patients at 71 full service locations in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The company has its corporate headquarters in Glenn Allen, Virginia.
Patient First treatment centers offer the convenience of a full range of in-house medical services. This essentially means that patients can walk-in and be examined, diagnosed and treated all in one visit. Patient First physicians and extenders treat almost two-thirds of the diagnoses that were traditionally made in a hospital emergency setting. Patient First’s selling point is that they typically perform this work cheaper and faster than an emergency room could.
Every Patient First location is equipped to perform basic x-rays so if a patient comes in with a broken arm or leg they can identify the fracture and provide appropriate care. Blood work and other routine lab tests are also performed on site. Walk-in patients can even get their prescriptions filled on their way out at every Patient First location and save a trip to the pharmacy.
The accessibility and convenience of walk-in care providers such as Patient First have made them very popular. A quick poll of our medical malpractice lawyers shows that most of us have been to Patient First as a patient or parent. Many people use Patient First as their primary care provider.
Venue for Patient First Lawsuits
Patient First has one or more locations in all of the major counties in central Maryland in including Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard, Carroll, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Patient First also has one location in Baltimore City. This essentially gives plaintiffs the some ability to pick their venue of choice when bringing a malpractice suit against Patient First. In fact, in a malpractice case filed last year (Sasha Hazlett, et al. v. Patient First Maryland Medical Group, P.L.L.C., et al., Cir. Ct. Balt. City – 24C17002851) the Plaintiffs appear to have engaged wise forum selection by filing in Baltimore City. Defense counsel for Patient First, Pessin & Katz, P.A. filed a motion to transfer venue based on forum non conveniens. The motion was denied, presumably because Patient First has a location and engages in “substantial business” within Baltimore City.
Verdicts and Recent Malpractice Cases
Patient First provides care similar to both a hospital emergency room and a typical primary care office. As a result malpractice claims against Patient First typically mirror those brought against primary care doctors and other initial providers. Negligence allegations against Patient First typically involve claims of misdiagnosis or failure to diagnosis. Below is a list of malpractice cases recently filed against Patient First in Maryland and a summary of the allegations:
$792,000 Verdict (2023 Baltimore County): After camping in Baltimore and noticing a bug bite on his arm, a man sought help at a Patient First urgent care facility in Catonsville. Initially diagnosed with cellulitis, he returned with worsening symptoms and was misdiagnosed again with an allergic reaction to a soda from Rite Aid. It was only at a later visit to a hospital that he was correctly diagnosed with Lyme disease. Despite undergoing treatment, he faced lasting ailments like Lyme meningitis and Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome. The jury, while awarding him $792,000, also found he wasn’t contributorily negligent for not returning to the urgent care for a rash re-check soon after his initial visit.
| COUNTY | CAPTION | SUMMARY | |
| Balt. City | Guinard v. Patient | First Nerve damage after intramuscular nerve injection | |
| Balt. City | Hazlett v. Patient First | Wrongful death based on negligent misdiagnosis by Patient First doctor who allegedly focused on plaintiff’s stomach and failed to identify heart problems | |
| Federal | Logue v. Patient First | Wrongful death case asserting that Patient First negligently cleared patient for surgery | |
| Balt. County | Deckelman v. Patient First | Alleges that Patient First negligently failed to diagnosis pulmonary embolism by neglecting to order simple blood test that would have revealed the condition | |
| Balt. City | Samad v. Patient First | Wrongful death based claiming that Patient First failed to properly identify and diagnose patient’s deteriorating heart condition and take preventative steps | |
| Harford | Cannon v. Patient First | Malpractice action based on negligent diagnosis | |
| Balt. County | Levy v. Patient First | Alleges that plaintiff walked-in with signs of hypertensive urgency and Patient First failed to provide any blood pressure treatment or refer her to a hospital and that plaintiff suffered a stroke as a result |
It is evident from the above listed cases that malpractice claims against Patient First typically arise out of Patient First’s role as a primary care provider or gatekeeper who is primarily charged with investigating and initially diagnosing conditions.
Patient First’s Defense Counsel
Patient First is defended by Joan Cerniglia-Lowensen from Pessin & Katz, P.A along with other attorneys from the firm. In almost every case we looked at Pessin & Katz filed for summary judgment at the end of the discovery phase but without any apparent success. This is likely because Patient First’s defenses in these cases are primarily factual in nature. In Maryland, if a qualified doctor supports your case, the great likelihood is that it will go to a jury. None of the recent cases filed in Maryland against Patient First have gone to trial so there are no jury verdicts.
Getting Medical Records From Patient First
Any good malpractice case usually begins with a careful review of the available medical records. Records requests to Patient First should be submitted to their Privacy Officer:
Steve McCoy
Phone: (800) 447-8588, Ext. 4490 or 4024
Fax: (804) 968-5730
Mailing Address
Patient First
Attention: Privacy Officer
5000 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060
Contact Us
If you or a family member have been injured at Patient First or believe you may have a malpractice claim against Patient First, contact our medical malpractice attorneys at 800-553.8082, or submit an online request for a free consultation.