The emergency room is a busy place but each year many people suffer from some form of injury and must sue for medical malpractice. This is because inside the emergency room, diagnosis and treatments must be made quickly. This is unlike on the hospital ward, where the doctor or nurse has more time to monitor the patient and come up with a better diagnosis based on the person’s symptoms. Therefore, the potential for emergency room malpractice increases with the severity of the person’s symptoms.
A Busy Environment
An emergency is a busy environment, and this increases the amount of negligence that can take place. Therefore, a busy environment crowded with doctors, nurses, and other emergency personnel may result in more injury to the person. The situation becomes worse if the medical staff have been working long shifts. As a result of this, the medical malpractice that is possible in this environment include:
- Wrong diagnosis
- Wrong treatment plan
- Mixing up patients notes
- Mixing up patient samples
- Incorrect medication
- Inability to fully evaluate the patient
These are just a small list of some of the problems a busy environment can cause leading to medical malpractice.
Health & Safety Issues
The emergency room is also an area in which helatth and safety issues can quickly spring up. Some of the emergency rooms are short of staff due to work cancellations, industry cutbacks, or just lack of hospital funding. As a result one overworked nurse might be assigned to numerous patients to care for.
The emergency room can also be a health and safety issue as they have the potential for unsanitary conditions. Body fluids or other liquids can be spilled on the floor, creating a hazard. It is also possible for someone to develop an infection from attending the hospital if proper sterile procedures are not used.
Medical Malpractice Injuries
Since the emergency room can result in a quick diagnosis that might be wrong, injuries may result from this malpractice. The most fatal is death, and this can be due to a wrong diagnosis or as a severe reaction to medication.
Other injuries include spinal paralysis, broken bones, trauma to an organ, death of an organ, loss of a limb, heart attack, medications reacting causing liver damage, or brain injury. These are all examples of injuries you can sustain in medical malpractice. If you feel you might have a case for malpractice, do not hesitate to hire an attorney for your claim.
Seeking Legal Advice
The information provided is only a guideline for medical malpractice. If you feel that you have been a victim of medical malpractice, consult an attorney immediately to discuss your lawsuit.
