When you go to the emergency room, you expect quick and conscientious care. You rightfully expect that doctors and nurses will take your symptoms seriously and take immediate action to protect your health. But mistakes can and do happen, and sometimes, those mistakes are more than just accidents; they could be medical malpractice.
A Norfolk medical malpractice attorney can help you figure out what went wrong and if you have a legal case if you or a loved one was hurt in the ER. Emergency rooms are indeed busy and stressful, but that doesn't make it okay to make mistakes that put patients in danger.
What Is Considered Medical Malpractice in the ER?
When a healthcare provider doesn't follow the accepted standard of care and that causes harm, that's medical malpractice. This standard means acting quickly, correctly figuring out what the symptoms are, ordering the right tests, and making safe choices about treatment and discharge in an emergency room.
Not every bad outcome is the result of malpractice. Negligence occurs when a provider fails to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonably prudent healthcare provider in the same situation.
Emergency room cases often involve fast decisions. Even so, providers are still expected to use sound medical judgment. When they do not, the results can be serious or even life-threatening.
Triage Failures
Triage is the process used to decide which patients need care first. This step is critical in an emergency room because it helps staff focus on the most urgent cases. When triage is done correctly, patients with severe symptoms are seen quickly.
Problems happen when triage is handled poorly. A patient with serious symptoms may be marked as low priority and made to wait too long. During that delay, their condition can get worse.
For example, someone with signs of a heart attack or stroke may not be treated right away if their symptoms are not recognized. Even a short delay in these cases can lead to lasting harm or death.
Triage failures may involve poor communication, lack of training, or simple carelessness. No matter the reason, failing to properly assess a patient’s urgency can be a serious error.
Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis is one of the most common problems in emergency rooms. This happens when a doctor either gets the diagnosis wrong or fails to diagnose a condition at all.
Emergency doctors often work quickly and with limited information. Still, they are expected to consider serious possibilities and rule them out when needed. When they do not, patients can be sent home with the wrong diagnosis.
Some commonly missed or misdiagnosed conditions in the ER include:
- Heart attacks that are mistaken for indigestion or anxiety
- Strokes that are not recognized early enough for treatment
- Infections that are dismissed as minor illnesses
- Appendicitis that is overlooked until it becomes severe
- Blood clots that are not properly tested or treated
A misdiagnosis can delay proper treatment and allow a condition to worsen. In some cases, the delay can cause permanent injury or death. When a doctor fails to take reasonable steps to reach the correct diagnosis, it may be considered malpractice.
Improper Discharge Decisions
Another serious issue in emergency rooms is improper discharge. This happens when a patient is sent home too early or without the right instructions.
Before discharging a patient, medical staff should make sure the patient is stable. They should also provide clear instructions on symptoms to monitor and when to come back. Patients may leave the hospital without fully understanding how serious their condition is if these steps are skipped or rushed.
Sometimes, patients are sent home even though their symptoms haven't been fully checked out. For instance, a person with chest pain might be sent home without getting the right tests. People might question the decision to let that patient go home early if they later have a heart attack.
Not setting up follow-up care or not giving clear instructions can also be a sign of improper discharge. Patients may be confused and at risk for complications as a result.
How Do Emergency Room Mistakes Happen?
Emergency rooms are bloody, fast-paced environments. Often, doctors and nurses have to care for many patients at once, and they might not have much time in which to do so. Even so, this doesn’t make mistakes okay.
Common reasons for mistakes in the ER are not having enough staff, not communicating well, not getting the right training, and not following the rules. Sometimes, doctors and nurses make quick decisions instead of fully checking on a patient's condition.
Patients have the right to safe and competent care, even in a busy ER. If that care isn't given and an injury happens, you might be able to take legal action.
You might be able to file a medical malpractice claim if you think an ER mistake hurt you. In these kinds of cases, you usually have to show that the provider had a duty of care to you, didn't meet that duty, and hurt you as a result.
Medical malpractice claims often involve expert witnesses who review the care provided and explain what should have been done differently. These cases can be hard to understand, but they are important for making sure providers are responsible.
A Norfolk medical malpractice attorney can look over your case, collect evidence, and go over your options with you. They can help you figure out if the care you got was below what is considered acceptable.
Call Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp for Help
Mistakes made in the emergency room can have long-lasting effects on your health and your life. If you think you were hurt because of a triage failure, a wrong diagnosis, or an improper discharge, it might be time to talk to a lawyer.
The team at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp has a lot of experience with these kinds of cases and knows how to make strong claims. We have been helping injured clients seek the compensation they deserve since 1985. For example, we helped a family achieve a $2.23 million verdict after a woman died because doctors did not diagnose her hospital sepsis in time.
To learn more about your rights, call a trusted Norfolk medical malpractice attorney from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp at (833) 997-1774 or fill out the contact form on our website.
