Baltimore Emergency Room Error Lawyer

Approximately 100 million people visit emergency rooms in the United States each year. With this high rate of visits, not every emergency room visit proceeds without error. Comparing these statistics to error rates at other medical departments reveals that errors are more common in the emergency room than in any other medical setting.

No matter if these errors are large or small, they have the potential to significantly disrupt a person’s life which is why you should not hesitate to speak with a Baltimore emergency room error lawyer.

The Causes of Emergency Room Errors

There are many elements in emergency rooms that lead to accidents. One factor is that stress levels in emergency rooms are often high because patients often require immediate medical care.

The rush to provide immediate medical care can result in medical professionals making mistakes in how care is provided. In some cases, medical professionals also might fail to make certain steps quickly enough to avoid serious injuries or fatalities.

Another element that can contribute to emergency room errors is understaffed departments which can result in overworked employees making errors.

The Types of Emergency Room Errors

Some of the most common types of emergency room errors include the following:

• Delays in providing treatment
• Failure to thoroughly examine a patient
• Incorrect treatment
• Medication errors
• Misdiagnosis of a medical condition
• Surgical errors

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

Enacted in 1986, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act prohibited the refusal of medical services to patients because of their inability to pay.

Patient dumping occurs when a hospital releases a patient onto the street rather than help the patient obtain the assistance of a social services program.

Emergency rooms that engage in patient dumping have been known to cause the death or serious injury of patients.

The Results of Emergency Room Errors

Emergency room errors can cause a patient’s condition to grow worse or create additional medical complications for a patient.

As a result, patients can be left facing temporary or permanent pain, loss of quality of life, and additional medical bills.

Some of the most common types of emergency room errors faced by a Baltimore emergency room error lawyer include the following:

• Blood loss.
• Blood poisoning or sepsis.
• Cognitive impairment.
• Heart attack.
• Infection.
• Physical disability.
• Scarring.
• Strokes.

In addition to these complications, in some cases, emergency room errors can even cause fatalities. Sometimes, patients are discharged and later die as the result of errors that were made in the emergency room.

Preventing Emergency Room Errors

One of the most effective ways to reduce the number of emergency room errors is to improve staffing. A greater number of staff members would shorten the time that patients wait to receive treatment and prevent the large number of medical complications that result from delays.

Reduced patient-to-staff ratios would also increase the amount of time that each patient spends with medical providers, which would help to create an increased quality of medical care. By implementing staffing ratios that take experience into consideration, less emergency room errors would be made due to inexperienced or improperly trained staff.

A Baltimore emergency room error lawyer understands how to handle staffing errors occur, which is why you should not hesitate to contact the assistance of one.

Contact an Experienced Emergency Room Error Attorney

If you have been harmed by an emergency room error or a loved one has died as a result of this type of mistake, you should not hesitate to speak with a Baltimore emergency room error lawyer.

There are very strict deadlines in medical malpractice cases, which means that if you wait you might be barred from obtaining compensation.

At Rice, Murtha & Psoras, our legal can determine whether the error constituted medical malpractice or negligence.

Our legal counsel also knows how to create a strong case against the responsible parties including medical facilities or staff members to make sure that you obtain the compensation you deserve.

Call our law office today for assistance.