When someone needs immediate medical treatment, they usually go to the emergency room. Because the emergency room is often the first place patients go for medical care, emergency room personnel must “triage” patients, quickly assessing which patients need the most immediate medical attention and who can wait. Too often, triage decisions are made incorrectly. Even when emergency room staff get the triage decision right, patients with serious, life-threatening conditions may be forced to wait for extended periods of time.

Because emergency rooms are fast-paced environments where doctors and other medical providers must make life-and-death decisions quickly and often without all the necessary information, the standard of care for emergency room practice is different than for other types of medical care. Nonetheless, the chaos of an emergency room does not excuse medical providers who deviate from acceptable standards of medical care and treatment.

If you or someone you love was severely injured due to emergency room negligence, you may have a claim for medical malpractice and could be entitled to compensation. Robenalt Law is an Ohio medical malpractice law firm that can analyze your situation to determine whether you were a victim of medical negligence and fight for the compensation you and your family deserve.

Overcrowding, Delays, and Inexperience Lead to Emergency Room Errors

Because the emergency room is the first place many patients go for treatment, it can easily become overcrowded and treatment may be delayed. Without timely treatment, a minor medical issue can quickly become deadly. If a patient experiences complications, the physician and E.R. staff may have committed malpractice.

For example, a patient experiencing symptoms of a heart attack or stroke requires an accurate and prompt diagnosis and treatment. If this patient presents to the emergency room but the E.R. staff fails to diagnose and treat these conditions quickly, the patient could suffer serious injuries, a life-long disability, or death.

Unfortunately, emergency rooms frequently face staffing shortages or are staffed by inexperienced physicians or doctors in training. However, these staffing and training issues do not excuse emergency room personnel from providing timely medical care and treatment consistent with the applicable standard of care.

Common Emergency Room Errors that Constitute Medical Malpractice

The fact that emergency rooms are chaotic or understaffed does not excuse physicians and medical staff from making avoidable errors that deviate from acceptable standards of medical care. Here are some of the most common medical errors that occur in emergency rooms and may constitute medical malpractice.

Delays in Treatment

A crowded emergency room can lead to a shortage of hospital beds or a lack of available equipment or staff. These conditions can cause delays in treatment, which can lead to serious complications or death.

Ignoring Hospital Policies

To save time, some medical professionals cut corners and ignore hospital policies and procedures. While ignoring a hospital policy may seem inconsequential in the moment, if something goes wrong, it could be a deviation from the standard of care and constitute malpractice.

Misdiagnosis or Missed Diagnosis

Misdiagnosis occurs when a doctor diagnoses a patient with a condition different from what they actually have, while missed diagnosis, also known as delayed diagnosis or failure to diagnose, occurs when a doctor fails to recognize that a patient has a medical condition and fails to diagnose the patient with a disease. In fast-paced emergency rooms where medical staff make life-and-death decisions quickly, misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis are common medical mistakes that can have serious consequences.

Miscommunication

Emergency rooms are notoriously busy, and medical staff may be tired, stressed, overworked, and exhausted. In addition, some emergency room personnel do not take the time to fully understand a patient’s symptoms or fail to take a patient’s complete medical history before making a diagnosis or other important decision. These conditions can lead to errors in communication that have catastrophic results for patients.

Improper Discharge

Improper discharge occurs when a patient is discharged too soon and later needs to return to the E.R. because of the same or more serious symptoms. Improper discharge also occurs when a patient is discharged without adequate follow-up instructions, such as instructions for additional treatment care or necessary medications.

Other Common Emergency Room Errors

Other common emergency room errors include:

• Failure to diagnose an infection
• Failure to diagnose appendicitis or a bowel obstruction
• Failure to diagnose a heart attack
• Not ordering X-rays, CT Scans, MRIs, or other tests
• Misunderstanding test results
• Medication errors
• Overlooking or ignoring symptoms
• Surgical mistakes
• Not consulting with a specialist
• Failure to monitor and observe patient vital signs
• Contaminated blood transfusions
• Unsanitary conditions
• Failure to treat a condition that was previously properly diagnosed
• Failure to admit a patient to the hospital

Can You Sue an Emergency Room for Medical Malpractice?

Suing an emergency room medical provider may seem overwhelming. But if you were injured or someone you love was killed because of emergency room malpractice, a medical malpractice lawyer at Robenalt Law can analyze your situation to determine whether you have a claim for medical negligence. However, medical malpractice claims are notoriously complex and should not be attempted without assistance from an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

Tom Robenalt is an Ohio trial lawyer with decades of experience handling medical malpractice claims. He began his career at a large law firm in Cleveland, where he defended doctors and other medical providers against medical malpractice claims. Today, he uses that experience to help people who were injured and the families of people killed because of medical mistakes.

Personal Injury attorney David Campbell represents those injured – both personally and professionally - at the hands of the negligent, wrongful actions of others.

If you believe you were a victim of medical malpractice, you must act quickly to protect your rights. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Ohio is one year from the date you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury. This is the shortest statute of limitations in Ohio, and one of the shortest statutes of limitation in the country. Call our Cleveland office at (216) 223-7535 or our new Columbus office at 614-695-3800 or contact Robenalt Law online to schedule a free, confidential, no-obligation appointment to discuss your situation and how we can help.

Robenalt Law has offices in Cleveland and Columbus, and handles medical malpractice claims throughout Ohio and nationwide.