Emergency Room Errors Often Lead to Medical Malpractice Claims

 Posted on May 14, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

Shockingly, studies show that medical errors are now considered the third leading cause of death in the United States. It is estimated that between 250,000 and 440,000 people in the U.S. lose their lives every year because of medical mistakes. One place where medical errors often occur is the emergency room. If you have ever had to visit an emergency room, you probably already know that they can be chaotic environments. People go to an emergency room for a variety of ailments, some life-threatening and some not. If you or a loved one suffered because of a mistake an ER doctor or technician made, you may have grounds for a successful personal injury claim.

Mistakes Made in the Emergency Room Can Be Deadly

Emergency room errors are appallingly common. In fact, some sources report that about 5-10% of all ER visits involve mistakes. Because there are approximately 100 million ER visits in the United States each year, this means 5-10 million emergency room errors are committed every year. Of course, not every mistake is life-threatening or even harmful, but many of these mistakes have the ability to kill a patient. Emergency room doctors and nurses cannot always immediately know what is wrong with a patient or how to treat him or her. However, when emergency room mistakes are egregious or caused by medical negligence, the mistake may become an issue of medical malpractice.

Most Common Errors Made in the ER

When it comes to emergency medicine, even the smallest mistake can cause significant damage. The most common types of medical mistakes that occur in American emergency rooms include:

• Misdiagnosis;
• Delayed diagnosis;
• Failure to provide essential medical treatment;
• Medication errors;
• Improper response to imminent conditions including strokes and heart attacks;
• Failure to check patient medical history;
• Incorrect use of a medical device;
• Ordering the wrong tests for a patient;
• Unhygienic or improper care that causes an infection;
• Failure to appropriately treat an infection or illness;
• Failure to consult needed specialists or experts;
• Misinterpretation of laboratory or test results;
• Administrative errors including mislabeled test results or confused patient files; and
• Failure to provide appropriate aftercare to a patient.

Contact a Winnebago County ER Mistakes Attorney  

If you or a loved one was the victim of an emergency room medical mistake, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Contact a Rockford, Illinois personal injury lawyer from Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Injury Law, to get the help you deserve. Call us today at 815-215-7561 to schedule a completely cost-free initial case assessment.

Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/07/15/surprising-number-of-emergency-room-medical-errors/