When a medical crisis suddenly arises, you know that you have the option to rush to an emergency room and receive immediate treatment. Having access to an emergency room grants peace of mind, but it is important to acknowledge that medical errors can occur even in the ER.
While honest mistakes can happen to anyone, emergency room errors often fall under the umbrella of medical malpractice. By familiarizing yourself with common errors that may occur in the ER, you can proceed with confidence if you become a victim of negligence when seeking healthcare.
Misdiagnosis
The emergency room is a fast-paced environment, lending to the possibility that a medical professional might misdiagnose or fail to diagnose your condition. Diagnostic errors sometimes come hand-in-hand with medication errors or harmful dosage instructions.
Triage errors
Triage refers to the initial assessment of a patient to determine the urgency of their condition. Triage is necessary for a busy emergency room to ensure that individuals with the direst needs receive treatment first, but errors in the triage process can be harmful when staff members assign priority inappropriately.
Poor communication
Miscommunications between medical personnel, or between the doctor and patient, can lead to dangerous situations. Communication negligence might result in incorrect procedures or faulty information on how a patient should treat their condition after discharge.
Medical malpractice at any location in the healthcare space can be harmful or even life-threatening. If you become a victim of malpractice, you have the right to pursue legal action and financial compensation so you can seek the medical treatment you need and deserve.