Emergency Room Errors
Emergency Room Error Attorneys in Indiana
Seeking emergency care should be a time of hope, not despair. Yet, errors and negligence in the emergency room continue to injure innocent victims. When you or a loved one goes to the emergency room, you should expect a certain standard of care. This term describes how a careful healthcare worker should act under certain conditions. It is very important in medical malpractice cases, including emergency room errors.
In emergency rooms, this standard means making the right diagnosis quickly, sorting patients correctly based on who needs help the most, giving the right medicines and doing the needed tests. If the staff doesn’t do these things because they are too busy or stressed, it can cause harm to patients and provide the basis for a lawsuit seeking accountability and compensation for the errors. If you have been harmed by emergency room errors, it is important to consult an attorney as soon as possible since the general rule for medical malpractice cases is that the lawsuit must be filed within two years of the date of the malpractice occurred.
At Langer & Langer, we stand for patients injured through medical errors and negligence. Our compassionate Indiana medical malpractice lawyers help the injured hold providers accountable for their mistakes.
What Are Some Common Triage Mistakes?
Emergency staff members determine who gets immediate attention and who must wait through triage – sorting and allocating aid based on urgent need. The medical training and education they receive should ensure proper procedure, even in high-pressure emergency departments, but errors like these occur regardless.
- Diagnostic errors: Misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose conditions
- Triage delays: Making urgent patients wait behind less critical cases
- Medication mistakes: Administering wrong drugs or dosages
- Testing errors: Failing to order tests or incorrectly interpreting diagnostic results
Our Indiana medical malpractice lawyers can help you learn more and determine if you have grounds for a claim.
Labor Shortages: A Stressful Recipe For Error
Emergency rooms are already hectic, but staffing shortages add a dangerous layer of stress. When there are not enough employees to handle the load, it can result in medical errors.
The Valparaiso medical malpractice lawyers with our firm have seen mistakes happen due to these health care labor shortage effects.
- Unmanageably heavy workloads
- Decreased morale and teamwork
- Burnout, exhaustion and mental fatigue
Our Indiana medical malpractice lawyers have seen firsthand how physical and mental exhaustion makes health care workers prone to medical errors.
5 Commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Conditions
You cannot always know if you are at risk of diagnostic mistakes as they can strike anyone with any condition. However, these are the most common misdiagnoses seen in U.S. emergency rooms:
- Stroke
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Aortic aneurysm/dissection
- Spinal cord compression/injury
- Venous thromboembolism (blood clot)
An incorrect or absent diagnosis for these conditions could lead to severely worsened health and may even be life-threatening.
Call An Experienced Attorney Today
Contact Langer & Langer today to discuss your situation at 219-246-4759 or reach out to us online. With guidance from our Indiana medical malpractice lawyers, you can call out medical provider negligence and get the compensation you deserve.