According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 139.8 million emergency department visits annually. While facilities and doctors are typically on-point when providing care, negligent healthcare providers often misdiagnose patients. Recent data suggests that 1 in every 18 patients in emergency settings are misdiagnosed.
This translates to about 7.4 million misdiagnoses yearly – about 2.6 million of which lead to adverse events; while about another 370,000 lead to serious injuries. Naturally, any form of misdiagnosis can lead to improper treatment and medication. In this sense, accurate diagnosis is the first crucial step in proper patient care.
By understanding typical emergency room errors, patients can better safeguard their well-being. Recognizing potential medical malpractice situations should allow patients to ask informed questions, ultimately reducing their risk for harm.
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10 Common Emergency Room Errors
Here are some of the typical errors that could occur in an emergency room setting:
1. Misdiagnosis
Failure to accurately identify a patient's condition leads to incorrect or delayed treatment. Can result in severe consequences for life-threatening illnesses.
2. Medication Mistakes
Errors in drug choice, dose, route, or interactions cause adverse reactions or treatment failures. Particularly dangerous with high-risk medications.
3. Inadequate Monitoring
Insufficient attention to changes in a patient's condition, vitals, or response to treatment, risks missed complications.
4. Allowing Infections
Poor infection control practices like hand hygiene, equipment sterilization, or timely antibiotics, enable preventable infections.
5. Premature Discharge
Sending patients home before they are stable or fully evaluated, risks rapid deterioration without prompt detection.
6. Failure to Order Tests
Not utilizing appropriate diagnostic studies to rule out serious conditions, leads to missed or delayed diagnoses.
7. Miscommunication
Breakdowns in information sharing between providers, departments, or shifts resulting in lapses or inconsistencies in care.
8. Delayed Interventions
Slow activation of time-sensitive treatments for critical conditions like sepsis, stroke, or heart attack, worsening prognosis.
9. Inadequate Pain Management
Poor assessment or under-treatment of acute pain and suffering, impacting patient comfort and recovery.
10. Poor Discharge Instructions
Insufficient patient education on home care, warning signs, or follow-up needs, increasing post-ER complication risks.
Are Emergency Room Errors Medical Malpractice?
When an emergency room error leads to serious patient harm, it may warrant a medical malpractice claim. However, not all adverse outcomes or complications in the ER are necessarily due to negligence. An initial investigation will be conducted by your legal team to establish the validity of your claim.
In the emergency room setting, among the most commonly misdiagnosed (and therefore mistreated) medical conditions include:
- Stroke
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Sepsis
- Meningitis and encephalitis
- Aortic aneurysm and dissection
- Spinal cord compression and injury
- Traumatic brain injury and intracranial hemorrhage
- Ectopic pregnancy and ovarian torsion
- Venous thromboembolism (pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis)
- Testicular torsion
Misdiagnosing these life-threatening conditions can lead to severe disability or death if not promptly treated. It is also possible that there are rarer and more severe conditions that are misdiagnosed in the emergency room setting.
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Establishing Liability for Compensation
Four key elements must first be pinpointed and established before any claim is rendered valid. Medical malpractice experts typically work with trusted medical consultants during this initial investigation. These four key elements are:
| 1. Duty of Care – Was there an appropriate doctor-patient relationship? |
| 2. Breach of Duty – Did your doctor perform poorly/negligently based on accepted standards of care? |
| 3. Causation – Did your doctor’s actions/inactions directly cause you harm? |
| 4. Damages – What did these errors cost you? |
Apart from establishing your claim, the responsibilities of your cancer malpractice lawyer include gathering pieces of evidence, officially filing your case, and negotiating for your compensation.
All medical expenses (past and future) are accounted for in all medical malpractice claims. Apart from medical bills, other economic and non-economic losses are also factored in – lost income, emotional trauma, and decreased quality of life are some of the more common inclusions. Please refer to our previous wins for actual cancer misdiagnosis compensation figures.
Speak to a Medical Malpractice Expert Today
At the Porter Law Group, our team of proven medical malpractice lawyers delivers ideal results. We take pride in helping families rebuild after unfavorable circumstances. We operate on a contingency basis – meaning you do not need to pay us anything unless we win your case. Through this approach, we can better support families during their times of need.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, please reach out to us for a non-obligatory free case evaluation. You can also contact us at 833-PORTER9 or info@porterlawteam.com to schedule a consultation.
