Brandon ER Error Lawyer
In many cases, patients who sustain injuries or begin experiencing certain symptoms, do not make an appointment with the family doctor, which could take days or even weeks, but go to the local Emergency Room. These experiences prove to be positive for many patients who receive the care they need and then return home with instructions on what to do next. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always occur. In fact, many malpractice claims stem from avoidable mistakes made in emergency rooms.
Individuals who find themselves in this situation are not without legal recourse, so if you recently suffered an injury as a result of an ER mistake in Florida, it is important to contact an experienced Brandon ER error lawyer who can walk you through your legal options.
Why are Emergency Room Errors so Common?
Emergency rooms have a very different atmosphere than in-patient wards, as they tend to be more hectic and require the intake of multiple patients at once, all of whom have varying injuries, some of which are life threatening. Emergency room employees also treat a wide range of injuries and illnesses, including everything from car accident injuries like broken bones and lacerations to dog bites and gunshot wounds.
Unfortunately, this means that there is a lot more room for error in the ER and that non-specialists are often required to oversee complex procedures. This, combined with the following factors make it much more likely that a medical mistake will be made:
- Understaffing;
- Overworked employees;
- Constant interruptions; and
- The collection of incomplete or unreliable information from patients.
In fact, emergency medicine generally has a higher error rate than any other medical specialty.
Because of these factors, ER physicians are often given more leeway when it comes to mistakes than are doctors who have time to contemplate a proper course of treatment. However, this room for error is limited and ER doctors can still be held liable for harm to a patient resulting from sub-standard or negligent care.
Common Emergency Room Errors
Emergency room errors are varied and include everything from misdiagnosis to medication mistakes. The most commonly committed emergency errors, however, include:
- A failure to take a proper patient history;
- A failure to perform a thorough examination;
- A failure to collect data or perform tests;
- A failure to consult specialists;
- Laboratory errors;
- A failure to monitor patients;
- Prescribing improper dosages or type of medication; and
- Making surgical errors.
These types of mistakes can have devastating consequences for patients, but tend to be fatal in certain cases, particularly when a patient is not properly treated for cardiac arrest, undiagnosed stroke, or infection.
Call Our Office Today
If you or a loved one sustained an injury due to an ER employee’s mistake, you could be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Please call 813-506-5651 to learn more about your legal options from one of the experienced Brandon ER error lawyers at Palmer | Lopez today.
