Emergency Room Errors That Can Lead to Serious Harm | Hourigan Kluger & Quinn
Learn how emergency room errors may cause serious harm and when they may support a medical malpractice claim.
Emergency Rooms Are Fast-Paced, But Patients Still Deserve Proper Care
Emergency rooms are designed to handle urgent and life-threatening conditions. Even in a busy setting, medical providers must follow accepted standards of care.
Emergency room errors can include missed heart attacks, missed strokes, delayed sepsis diagnosis or treatment, failure to order imaging, medication errors, premature discharge, or failure to respond to abnormal test results. These errors are often the result of communication failures, understaffing, rushed evaluations, or incomplete documentation.
A bad outcome does not automatically mean malpractice occurred. The question is whether the providers were negligent and whether the negligence resulted in injury or death. Key evidence may include triage notes, vital signs, lab results, imaging, medication records, physician notes, nursing notes and discharge instructions.
Related Articles
Understanding Your Legal Rights After Medical Harm
Understanding your legal rights after an emergency room error is important because these cases have to be filed within two years and require detailed review of the medical records and literature to determine if there was negligence and whether the injury or death could have been prevented.
Click here for more information and to review your options.