Emergency Room Malpractice

Emergency room physicians and their medical teams face a revolving door of patients with serious problems that must be diagnosed and treated rapidly. It is the hospital's responsibility to make certain that the emergency room is safe of hazards, clean, and sanitary at all times. This will help reduce the odds of number of mistakes that can be triggered by staff negligence.

Emergency room errors can be caused by the following forms of negligence:

Failure to diagnose -- Emergency rooms are mad houses, but ER doctors are obligated to conduct a thorough examination of every patient to confirm a diagnosis. For instance, if a physician claims a patient's fever is caused by the flu, but it is really a symptom of meningitis, the failure to diagnose may result in a wrongful death if the person dies of the virus.
Failure to diagnose heart attack -- Side effects of a heart attack can lead doctors to believe that something far less serious is wrong. If a patient is sent home under the assumption that they only have a minor bug, they could suffer another heart attack soon after that is more harmful or deadly.
Failure to order tests -- Although there is such a rapid turnover rate in the emergency room, physicians are always expected to live up to specific standards of care. If a doctor does not order a test that could assist with proper diagnosis of a condition, and that choice results in severe injury or wrongful death, the doctor can be held liable for malpractice.
Failure to check on patient after discharge -- It's not unusual for tests to arrive at the emergency room after a patient has been discharged. It then falls on the shoulders of hospital staff to notify the patient of these findings, especially if the results show enough of a sign that further treatment is vital.
Vague discharge -- If the ER personnel fails to provide adequate instructions to a patient in regard to what medication to take, what to treat and cover wounds with, or whether they should be referred to another doctor for further examination or checkup.
Misunderstanding test results -- If a physician misinterprets exam results, they may decide to release the patient prior to receiving the necessary treatment.
Misreading x-rays -- Overlooking important x-ray information may lead to the discharge of a patient with a problem that goes undiagnosed.

If you or someone close to you has been involved in an emergency room catastrophe similar to one of the previous examples, your first thought should be to contact a Florida medical malpractice attorney who will help you make sense of the situation and advise you where to go from there.

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