What to Do if You’re Injured in an Emergency Room
Generally speaking, ERs are overcrowded while simultaneously being understaffed. While the majority of ER doctors and nurses adhere to their professional duties even in stressful situations, some make medical errors that result in poor patient outcomes. These mistakes may range from a misdiagnosis to insufficient triage. Our medical malpractice lawyers in Greenville, SC, understand what constitutes malpractice in an ER and can assist in the process.
The Role of an ER Physician
Emergency room physicians are trained in emergency medicine. This requires practitioners to possess a comprehensive understanding of various illnesses and conditions. ER doctors are trained to make informed decisions very quickly. Unlike other physicians who may work to improve a chronic condition, the primary goal of an emergency room physician is to stabilize your condition. For more serious injuries, treatment may include surgery, while less severe cases may involve a patient being prescribed medication and discharged.
Medical Malpractice in an ER Setting
ER physicians are required to make informed decisions within a limited timeframe. As the patient, you need to provide your physician with an accurate medical history, including your family history, any prior conditions, and a list of your current medications. Beyond providing accurate and complete information, the patient’s role ends, and a physician’s role begins.
A physician must complete a medical assessment, order necessary testing, diagnose, and treat a patient before the patient’s condition worsens. When a physician fails to adhere to the standard of care expected of a physician, then you may have the basis of a medical malpractice claim. The standard of care is determined by examining what a practitioner in the same field would have done given the circumstances.
Common examples of medical malpractice in an ER include the following:
Misdiagnosis
A misdiagnosis involves presenting the wrong diagnosis to a patient. Typically, a medical mistake occurs at some point in the diagnostic process. The diagnostic process involves several stages, including taking a patient’s medical history, conducting a physical examination, ordering medical imaging, the physician’s assessment, and referral to a specialist (if necessary). Misdiagnoses often result in the wrong treatment program being implemented and incorrect medications being administered. However, in some cases, no adverse consequences may occur. If there is no negative outcome, then there is no basis for a malpractice claim.
Failure to Diagnose
Physicians certainly feel the pressure of expediting diagnoses, especially when a waiting room is full of patients. Given that ER doctors are the first line of defense when a person is not feeling well, a failure to diagnose can have severe consequences.
In an emergency room setting, cardiac arrest (heart stops beating suddenly) and cardiorespiratory arrest (heart stops pumping blood and the lungs stop working properly) are the two most common conditions that physicians fail to diagnose accurately. Unfortunately, the symptoms of both these conditions may appear to be heartburn, digestive issues, or anxiety-related. Once the condition is in full force, it may be too late to treat effectively.
Delay in Diagnosis
A delay in diagnosis occurs anytime that a medical ailment or condition is not diagnosed when it should have been. Delays in diagnosis may have various causes, including misinterpretation of imaging results, a physician’s inexperience, or inadequate communication between providers. However, a delayed diagnosis is not always indicative of medical malpractice, especially if a provider’s actions were on par with the acceptable standard of care.
Improper Triage
We think of an ER as a place where we go to receive treatment during a medical crisis. Unfortunately, other individuals may be experiencing similar or different ailments, all of which require immediate care. In many hospital settings, registered nurses (RNs) are typically responsible for triage.
A triage nurse will take your vital signs and ask about your symptoms to assess the severity of your condition. An experienced ER nurse can evaluate a patient’s medical condition to determine which individuals should be examined by a physician first. When someone with a severe condition is forced to wait, irreparable damage and fatalities can occur.
Anesthesia Errors
If someone cannot breathe on their own, the patient will need to be intubated. A physician will administer drugs to paralyze the airway muscles and eliminate the gag reflex to make the procedure easier. Which paralytic a physician chooses will be based on the situation, taking into account the patient’s medical history, drug allergies, and potential side effects. Some anesthesia errors can be fatal.
Legal Guidance During a Stressful Time
If you have been injured in an ER, you should collect any medical documentation related to your visit. This will help to pinpoint which physician or nurse deviated from the expected standard of care. Proving negligence is a complex process, which is where our Greenville medical malpractice attorneys can provide valuable assistance.
At Parham Smith & Archenhold, our legal team will conduct a thorough investigation into your matter to assess where your treating provider breached their professional obligations. Additionally, we consult with medical practitioners in the field who can provide their insight into where the deviation occurred and how they would have approached your case. By utilizing various resources, we have helped our clients recover the entirety of their losses to start anew.
Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Can Help
If you or a loved one has experienced medical complications or deterioration of an existing condition in an ER, our Greenville medical malpractice attorneys would like to hear from you. For over 30 years, the medical malpractice team at Parham, Smith & Archenhold LLC has assisted individuals who have been injured due to a provider’s oversight or inexperience. Contact us online or call (864) 432-1796.