In and around Monterey County, many patients move between urgent care, primary care, imaging centers, and specialists. Even when everyone intends to help, delays can occur when:
- abnormal results aren’t clearly communicated to the patient
- imaging or lab findings don’t trigger the next step quickly enough
- referrals get placed but not followed through within a reasonable timeframe
- symptom escalation isn’t reassessed after repeated visits
These issues are especially common when schedules are tight and people are trying to “make the next appointment work.” Legally, the question is not whether the outcome was unfortunate—it’s whether the care team’s actions fell short of what a reasonable clinician would do in the same situation, and whether that gap contributed to the harm you experienced.


