Understanding Emergency Room Malpractice
People go to the emergency room when they or a loved one is seriously ill or injured. Emergency rooms are supposed to be the place to go to seek timely attention for a serious illness or injury. Unfortunately, all too often people go to an emergency room seeking emergency care, but instead are made to wait too long for the illness or injury they have or are given inadequate care. Errors in emergency rooms can start from the time a person walks in an is initially evaluated (triage) to the time that the patient is finally seen. Delays and inappropriate care can result in serious complications for patients, including wrongful death. When these issues occur, this is considered to be emergency room malpractice.
Errors in the ER in Oregon
Sadly, every day errors are made in emergency rooms in hospitals in Oregon as well as across the country. Some of these errors can result in serious injury, complications or death for a patient seeking emergency care. Examples of these common emergency room malpractice include the following:
- Prolonged delay in patient evaluation
- Prolonged delay in treating a patient
- Discharging a patient prematurely who needs further evaluation or treatment
- Medication administration errors, including wrong medication being administered, wrong dose of medication being administered, administering a medication that interacts with another medication the patient is taking, administering a medication via the wrong route (i.e. IV push instead of injection)
- Inappropriate triaging of the patient
- Failing to completely assess the patient
- Mixing up of patients, leading to the wrong test being performed, wrong procedure being performed or the wrong medication being administered
- Failing to perform necessary testing
- Incorrect interpretation of scan results
- Failing to provide appropriate follow up instructions
- Failing to diagnose serious medical conditions and emergencies (i.e. heart attack, stroke, internal bleeding, aneurysms, cancer, etc.)
- Failing to follow hospital protocols
- Incorrect interpretation of laboratory results or other test results
- Administration of a medication a patient has a known allergy to
- Failing to inform a patient of their test results
- Dismissing a patients concerns without providing proper evaluation of the patient
- Failing to obtain a complete medical history, leading to vital details about the patient’s condition being missed
How Can Errors in Emergency Rooms be Caused by Medical Errors?
Errors occur every day in emergency rooms. Common causes of emergency room errors include the following:
- Inexperienced staff
- Overcapacity in the emergency room with too many patients
- Not enough staff in the emergency room
- Improper triaging of a patient, leading to an inappropriate prolong delay in evaluation and treatment
- Improper oversight of inexperienced staff
- Improper communication amongst staff members
- Staff members that inappropriately conduct their jobs due to their lack of care for the patient
Even though most people never set out to cause harm to patients seeking care in the emergency room, an error is an error. Patients should never have to suffer life threatening consequences of even death as the result of someone else’s error.
Ask our Lawyers for Emergency Room Malpractice in Oregon
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice contact the Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form. We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.
Our law firm handles cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Sisters, Madras, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, La Grande, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton, Cottage Grove, Florence, Oregon City, Springfield, Keizer, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Tualatin, West Linn, Forest Grove, Wilsonville, Newberg, Roseburg, Lake Oswego, Klamath Falls, Happy Valley, Tigard, Ashland, Milwakie, Coos Bay, The Dalles, St. Helens, Sherwood, Central Point, Canby, Troutdale, Hermiston, Silverton, Hood River, Newport, Prineville, Astoria, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Hillsboro, and Vancouver, Washington.
We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take medical malpractice cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.
