Emergency Room Malpractice

Emergency room malpractice, or ER malpractice for short, usually occurs when serious conditions are missed in the emergency room, delaying treatment and resulting in serious injury or death.

When you visit an emergency room, you expect a safe environment staffed with experienced medical professionals who can help with your emergency. It is the hospital’s responsibility to create the safe and efficient environment that you expect.

Unfortunately, hospital emergency rooms mishandle patients and ER situations far too often, making emergency rooms one of the most common sources of medical malpractice negligence.

Some of the most common factors in emergency rooms that contribute to emergency room malpractice lawsuits include:

  • Understaffing
  • Overcrowding
  • Improper screening of doctors and support staff
  • Insufficient training
  • Inadequate facilities
  • Unsanitary conditions
  • Poor patient tracking procedures
  • Inadequate record-keeping procedures
  • Errors in medication administration
  • Patient dumping and discrimination

A visit to the emergency room can start as a minor medical emergency, but can quickly turn tragic when there is negligence on the part of the medical staff, emergency room, or hospital. Unfortunately, emergency room malpractice can lead to severe injuries, long-term disability, permanent disability, and death.

Some of the most common emergency room errors include:

  • Misdiagnosis
  • Failure to diagnose
  • Delayed diagnosis
  • Failure to treat
  • Delayed treatment
  • Failure to evaluate
  • Laboratory errors
  • Misread x-ray results
  • Failure to monitor a patient
  • Medication errors
  • Adverse reaction to the medication
  • Medication overdose
  • Surgical errors
  • Unnecessary surgery

The most common emergency room errors are due to diagnosis mistakes. The most commonly misdiagnosed conditions include:

  • Appendicitis
  • Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack)
  • DVT and Pulmonary Embolism
  • Stroke
  • Aneurysm
  • Internal Bleeding

Click here to read a few examples of emergency room malpractice, or ER malpractice.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of emergency room malpractice or ER malpractice it is important to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney. At Sweeney Law Firm, the initial consultation is free, and if we agree to accept your case, we will handle your case on a contingent fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a settlement or recovery of funds.

You may have a valid claim and be entitled to monetary compensation for your injuries, but a lawsuit must be filed before the statute of limitations expires. Have your Indiana medical malpractice case reviewed today.