Philadelphia Emergency Room Error Lawyer
If something happened to you during your stay in an ER that you believe constitutes malpractice, trust Anapol Weiss. Our Philadelphia emergency room lawyers will help you learn your rights and potential legal actions moving forward. We offer free consultations and will personally review your medical records with you and if we find emergency room negligence, we will aggressively fight on your behalf.
Emergency rooms (ERs) can be chaotic environments, with high traffic and the need for fast patient care. Despite the frenzy that can exist in ERs, physicians and staff members must take measures to care for patients according to accepted medical standards. A busy atmosphere is no excuse for careless mistakes and medical malpractice.
Contact an Emergency Room Error Attorney Today
Do not attempt to pursue a medical malpractice claim in Philadelphia without help from an attorney. Doing so may only hurt your chances of receiving compensation. Instead, come to the talented lawyers at Anapol Weiss. We offer free consultations so you can learn more about your case at no cost or obligation. We want to hear from you about your injurious ER experience and help you fight back against professional negligence. To get in touch with our firm, call (866) 735-2792 or contact us online.
Types of ER Mistakes and Professional Negligence
There are many moving pieces in the ER – nurses taking patient intake forms, the administrative staff organizing patient care, and doctors assessing and treating patients at a fast pace. Negligence at any stage of patient care in the emergency department can end in serious harms and even death. It is up to the ER staff to communicate efficiently, stay organized, and abide by high standards of care even in a hectic environment. Failure to do so, resulting in injury, may be medical malpractice. ER mistakes that constitute malpractice include:
- Diagnostic errors. Delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and failure to diagnose are common errors in the ER. Doctors may not listen to a patient, downplay his/her complaints, or fail to accurately diagnose the ailment. This can lead to patients sent home without proper treatment. Even on a tight schedule, doctors must take care to listen to symptoms and make an appropriate diagnosis.
- Failure to order appropriate tests. One of the main jobs of staff in the ER is to order specific scans, x-rays, and tests to get to the bottom of a patient’s complaints. Ordering the wrong tests or failing to order tests at all can lead to a failure to diagnose. In some cases, staff members improperly interpret test results, leading to harmful misdiagnoses. In both cases, the patient would not receive proper treatment.
- Medication errors. Lack of communication, disorganization, and patient mix-ups can lead to dangerous medication errors. Doctors may prescribe the wrong medication or fail to notice that the medication will have an adverse reaction with drugs the patient is already taking. Improper drug administration or dosage can also have very serious effects on patient health and safety.
Other errors include patient dumping (releasing a patient due to lack of insurance) or delaying treatment. Forcing a patient to wait longer than is appropriate can lead to a worsened condition, serious health complications, and even death. There are specific methods and routines ER staff must follow to optimize the safety of patients and prevent errors. ER mistakes are preventable with proper care, competence, and training.
Seeking Justice for Philadelphia Victims of ER Errors
Many situations in the ER are matters of life and death. Unfortunately, a lot can wrong in the emergency room. Just one mistake can change a patient’s future for the worse. At Anapol Weiss, we believe in bringing negligent medical personnel to justice. We want to help victims of medical malpractice in Philadelphia pursue compensation for their injuries or the wrongful deaths of family members. Negligence has no place in the emergency department. There is no excuse for poor medical care.