Understanding ER Medical Malpractice: Common Causes and Your Rights
Emergency rooms, also known as ERs or emergency departments, are a place for medical emergencies. People seeking care in the emergency room have medical emergencies that need to be addressed promptly. Unfortunately, there are many people that go to the emergency room hoping for adequate emergency medical care, but instead are either made to wait far too long for the medical emergency, or are given inappropriate treatment for their condition. This can result in serious injuries, including wrongful death. Delays in care or inappropriate care provided to a patient care be for a multitude of reasons. However, none of these reasons are acceptable when a patient is needlessly harmed. This is why ER medical malpractice can cause serious personal injuries to an innocent person.
What Types of Errors are Commonly Made in the Emergency Room?
The list of errors that occur as ER medical malpractice are endless. Some of these errors can result in serious harm to the patient, or even wrongful death. Examples of these errors include the following:
- Inappropriate delay in treating the patient
- Discharging the patient when the patient needs further treatment
- Medication administration errors, including wrong medication dose, wrong medication route, wrong medication given, or medication administered that interacts with another medication the patient is taking
- Delays in treating the patient
- Inaccurate diagnoses of conditions, including heart attack, stroke, cancer, aneurysms, hemorrhage (internal bleeding) along with many other serious medical conditions and medical emergencies
- Inappropriate triaging of a patient
- Failing to properly assess a patient
- Mixing patients up, possibly giving them the wrong medication, treatment or procedure
- Failure to perform necessary testing (i.e. imaging, blood work, etc.)
- Incompetent staff allowed to act unattended, leading to errors
- Inexperienced staff, possibly leading to errors such as those above
- Failing to follow proper hospital protocol as well as standards of care, leading to many issues, including infection, medication errors or other harm to the patient
- Failing to use sterile technique for a sterile procedure conducted in the emergency room, leading to serious infections
- Misinterpretation of test results, possibly leading to missing a critical finding
- Failing to communicate, leading to errors and serious consequences for the patient
- Too many patients with not enough staff can lead to patients who need emergency treatment being overlooked, possibly leading to serious injury or wrongful death
- Failing to take a patient’s complaints seriously, leading to missing a serious illness or injury
- Failing to take a patient’s complete medical history
- Failing to obtain a patient’s complete medication list
- Failing to notify a patient of findings from a test performed
- Administration of a medication a patient is allergic to, leading to serious allergic reaction or wrongful death
- Failing to education patients about the appropriate follow up instructions
Proving a Case in Oregon
In order to be entitled to compensation for ER medical malpractice in OR, a victim will need to establish that there was a deviation from the standard of care. This deviation from the standard of care must also proximately cause damages to a victim. Whether the damages are to a mother and baby or to the victim of a car accident that was mistreated, proving a case in Oregon can result in serious personal injuries that could be compensable under Oregon law.
A victim will need to establish liability for a preponderance of the evidence, which is the burden of proof in a medical malpractice case. This burden is important because it requires a victim to establish a claim by 51% or more. If a claim cannot be established by 51% or more, the claim will fail and a victim may not be entitled to compensation. This is why it is important to hire an experienced ER medical malpractice lawyer to protect your rights.
Ask Our Law Firm for Help With Your Lawsuit Today
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.
