If you've been a victim of medical malpractice, contact an attorney at the Law Office of d'Oliveira & Associates today at 1-800-992-6878. Fourteen locations throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Upon entering an emergency room, patients are typically greeted by a triage nurse (usually an RN or Registered Nurse). This individual makes the initial determination of how immediate or serious the patient’s condition is. This evaluation will often determine how long a person will wait to be seen. This nurse will also decide who will treat the patient (nurse or physician) depending on the severity of the patient’s condition.
Anyone who has visited an emergency room will likely say they experienced a long wait time or that the ER was overcrowded. In fact, over 100 million Americans visit the emergency room (ER) each year. Even with this large number, it is still surprising to learn the number of patients that die as a result of ER malpractice. According to the Institute of Medicine, nearly 100,000 patients die each year as a result of ER errors or malpractice.
There are many types of errors that can occur in an emergency room (ER), including:
Unfortunately, it is very common for serious conditions to go undiagnosed when patients visit the ER. More specifically, physicians often fail to diagnose the following serious conditions: heart attacks, strokes, cancer (breast cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, etc.), pulmonary embolism (PE), aneurysms, and pancreatitis.
There are many reasons why emergency room (ER) errors occur. Most notably, emergency rooms are overcrowded. Often, the hospitals are understaffed and not efficiently equipped with the necessary supplies to provide adequate treatment for the patients. This means that patients may experience very long wait times or may be sent home too early. Additionally, it may be very difficult to find specialists and other physicians with expertise in a given area to accommodate all the patients.
The shortage of employees and resources also leads to quick decisions. The hospital staff may not order the proper tests or could misread test results. Furthermore, if staff members rush through procedures they may forget to wash their hands, leading to patients getting hospital acquired infections (HAI). Another reason for ER malpractice is that many staff members are either poorly trained, or simply inexperienced. This inexperience and poor training could lead to miscommunication, such as providing patients with the wrong medication, or wrong dosage.
Regardless of how overcrowded and stressful an emergency room may be, every patient that walks through the ER doors should receive quality care and treatment. If you or a loved one suffered from Emergency Room (ER) malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. Contact a personal injury attorney today.
Please contact the law offices of d'Oliveira & Associates at 1-800-992-6878 or fill out a contact form for a free legal consultation.