Wesley Chapel Emergency Room Error Attorney
Emergency rooms are hectic places. Even if they do not resemble a holiday movie or an episode of ER, they are still fast-moving places where very ill people come for immediate treatment.
Sadly, some emergency rooms are poorly run. Doctors, nurses, and other staff make preventable errors—sometimes with deadly consequences.
If you or a loved one was injured in an emergency room—or if a loved one died—contact our Wesley Chapel emergency room error attorney Moore Law today. Our team can carefully review the facts to determine whether you can hold the hospital or medical professionals accountable.
Common Emergency Room Errors
Doctors and other staff sometimes provide emergency care without all relevant information. That’s simply the reality of the emergency room. If someone comes in unconscious due to a gunshot wound, they cannot provide the doctor with detailed information about their allergies, medical history, and current prescriptions.
Nevertheless, the emergency nature of care does not mean doctors and other professionals do not have to provide competent, professional service. They still do. In fact, medical professionals must provide the standard of care—with some allowance for the emergency nature of the situation.
Careless and negligent staff unfortunately commit common errors:
- Missed diagnosis. If a patient reports chest pain, a doctor would be negligent not to consider a heart attack.
- Wrong diagnosis. Doctors can’t botch a diagnosis because they are rushed or fail to order necessary tests.
- Failure to monitor a patient. Even if a doctor is pulled into a different emergency room, he or she should ensure a patient is being monitored in case their condition worsens.
- Drug errors. A doctor could prescribe the wrong drug, or a nurse could administer the wrong drug or the right drug in the wrong dosage. Tragedy can result.
- Failure to treat. Data entry errors and poor paperwork sometimes result in patients literally keeling over in the waiting room because no one is aware they are there for help.
- Surgical errors. A surgeon can make some mistake, usually out of carelessness. Common surgical errors include damaged organs, internal bleeding, and even wrong-site surgery.
- Patients can get infections because the emergency room is not properly cleaned and equipment is not sterilized.
Determining if You Have a Legal Malpractice Case
The law of medical malpractice applies to hospital emergency rooms. Accordingly, doctors and staff must follow the correct standard of care, based on the facts of the situation. Unfortunately, too many patients are injured each year by preventable errors.
Some common reasons for mistakes include:
- Overworked doctors and staff
- Drug or alcohol addiction
- Understaffing in the emergency room
- Filing and data errors
- Emergency room overcrowding
- Inexperienced medical staff
- Failure to supervise medical staff
Those injured by emergency room errors often need additional medical care or surgery, which is expensive. They might also die because they did not receive proper treatment. A range of financial damages are available to our clients if they choose to sue.
Contact Our Wesley Chapel Emergency Room Error Attorney
Although working in an emergency room is stressful, all staff must still fulfill their duties to patients. Stress, exhaustion, and inexperience are no excuse for providing substandard care.
To learn more about your rights, contact Moore Law today. We can meet for an easy, no-cost consultation to learn more about your emergency room experience and determine what legal steps to take.
