ER Medical Malpractice

How frequently have you or a loved one endured an injury or illness, resorted to visiting the emergency room, were forced to wait, and finally be seen by a physician, who is probably overworked, under fatigue, and fails to provide adequate care? 

In most cases, virtually every adult has at least one of these experiences.  Realistically, many of these agonizing visits do not result in further medical emergencies.  However, in the United States, hundreds of patients are injured further or die in the emergency room due to emergency room medical malpractice.   When a patient’s life is at stake, healthcare providers cannot divert responsibility under the guise of understaffing, costs, and other arguments about the healthcare system.  Their negligence endangered, damaged, and in too many instances, lead to the death of their patient.     

The Timeline of Emergency Room Medical Malpractice

Emergency room errors start as soon as the patient enters the reception area.  Understaffing, confusing people traffic, and the inherent fast-paced conditions in most emergency rooms are simply conducive to creating an environment filled with mistakes. 

In their haste, physicians commonly commit the most prevalent form of medical malpractice stemming from an emergency room, which is misdiagnosis, which is closely followed by failure to diagnose.  In essence, a physician fails to take the time to do what is medically necessary to determine the exact cause of a patient’s ailments.  Some of the other more prevalent forms of emergency room medical malpractice errors include:

• Improper administration of medication
• Surgical mistakes and errors
• Inadequate or inaccurate lab testing
• Unsanitary conditions
• Delay of treatment or diagnosis
• Anesthesia malpractice

Common Injuries Associated with Emergency Room Malpractice

The most frequently associated injuries with emergency room medical malpractice involve a perilously ill or injured patient being prematurely discharged from the hospital, only to later suffer more serious or fatal medical incidents, resulting in wrongful death.   Typical injuries associated with emergency room malpractice, including premature discharge, include:

• Appendicitis
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Aneurysm
• Internal bleeding

How to Prove Negligence in Emergency Room Malpractice

Being able to prove a doctor was negligent is not an easy task.  Typically, a hospital will employ a team of attorneys to refute your claims.  An experienced medical malpractice attorney representing your case will have to deal with delicate issues, such as:

• Determining if evidence, documents, and other incriminating items were destroyed in light of patient injuries
• Hospital workers and employees refusing to incriminate coworkers or superiors
• Proving a standard of care was not met by attending healthcare professionals