Emergency Room Errors
When Emergency Care Goes Wrong
Did you visit the emergency room, only to receive poor quality care that left you with preventable injuries? If your medical condition was undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed, or if you were a victim of an anesthesia error, a St. Louis personal injury lawyer from Stephens Kelly Law can help!
We bring nearly 20 years of experience to the table and we represent injury victims in all types of medical malpractice cases, including those involving emergency room errors. With experience representing Fortune 500 companies in complex, multi-million dollar lawsuits, we are not afraid to go head-to-head with a prominent physician or hospital!
Why choose us?
- We are a NO RECOVERY, NO FEE law firm!
- We offer FREE case evaluations.
- Available nights and weekends.
Understanding Emergency Errors
Often chaotic, overcrowded environments with scant data about new patients, the emergency room is among the top hospital departments responsible for medical malpractice lawsuits. The truth is that most emergency room errors that compromise patient safety are caused by human error, says a study published in BMC Emergency Medicine.
According to the Physicians Insurers Association of America, a nonprofit trade association whose members cover about 60% of emergency physicians, the average payments and legal expenses for ER cases have more than doubled in the past 20 year – a sign of a dangerous epidemic.
Common types of emergency room errors:
- Misdiagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Failure to order necessary tests
- Medication errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Delayed medical treatment
- Ignoring or downplaying the patient’s symptoms
- Misreading test results
While emergency room errors encompass a variety of mistakes, such errors frequently have to do with faulty diagnosis. Commonly misdiagnosed conditions include: stroke, heart attack, and meningitis.
Do you have a claim?
To prove that you are a victim of medical malpractice, you must show these four elements:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed.
- The doctor was negligent.
- The doctor’s negligence was responsible for your injuries.
- Your injuries led to specific damages (losses).
Medical malpractice is heavily regulated by a complex body of laws; for example, in Missouri, you have just two years to file a medical malpractice claim.
Since you do not want to miss this window of opportunity, you should contact a medical malpractice attorney from our firm immediately for help!