| Emergency rooms are always busy places. People | | | | Some of the most common errors in emergency |
| with a wide variety of injuries and illnesses - from | | | | rooms are: |
| heart attacks to asthma attacks, from car | | | | - Misdiagnosis and early release. Because of the |
| accidents to gunshot injuries - are being diagnosed | | | | hectic nature of ERs, doctors often fail to |
| and treated by a team of doctors and medical | | | | diagnose serious ailments and send patients home |
| professionals who are under near-constant stress. | | | | without sufficient treatment. Conditions like heart |
| It's inevitable that some errors will occur, and the | | | | attacks, strokes, spinal cord damage, and brain |
| goal of administration is to prevent as many | | | | damage may go unnoticed by careless medical |
| errors as possible. Good management, | | | | professionals. |
| communication, and efficient procedures can go a | | | | - Failure to follow medical records. Medical records |
| long way to minimizing errors and preventing | | | | tell doctors about a patient's medical history, drug |
| tragic mistakes. Sometimes, that's not enough. | | | | allergies, and other vital information. If the doctor |
| Even worse are poorly managed or staffed | | | | doesn't read it carefully, or misplaces it, he or she |
| emergency rooms. There has been a recent rash | | | | could administer horribly insufficient medical care |
| of suits against emergency rooms all over the | | | | to a patient. |
| country because of insufficient, negligent, or | | | | - Prescription errors. Doctors have legendarily |
| simply dangerous ER treatment. One famous suit | | | | terrible handwriting, which has been known to |
| was filed by the family of a woman who was at | | | | cause errors in filing medication. Prescription drug |
| a New York ER for 24 hours when she died - | | | | errors can cause a number of serious effects. |
| having never received the treatment she needed. | | | | - Failure to perform medical care. It's against |
| She died on the floor of the facility while | | | | federal law to withhold a medical screening |
| attendants were literally stepping over her body. | | | | because a patient does not have insurance. |
| Common ER Mistakes | | | | If you've been the victim of any of these errors, |
| There is absolutely no excuse for negligent ER | | | | you may be able to sue for financial |
| treatment. If you've been the victim of an injury | | | | compensation. If you're interested in learning more |
| related to medical care, you may be able to sue | | | | about medical malpractice litigation, visit the |
| for damages. It can help to discuss your case | | | | Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys of |
| with an experienced personal injury attorney. | | | | Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., today. |