Emergency Room Malpractice

Emergency rooms in Miami are high-stress environments. There are many patients being admitted, treated, and released, and many of these patients have very serious injuries or conditions. ER doctors deal with head injury patients in Miami, heart attacks, car accident victims, and more. When patients enter emergency rooms, they are often distressed and they expect a high quality of care. When doctors and health care professionals in the ER are negligent or reckless, misdiagnosis and treatment errors can occur. These situations can cause serious complications, injury, and even fatal injuries to patients.

When patients are injured by Emergency Room negligence in Miami, they have the legal right to seek compensation through a legal claim. Compensation can help pay for lost income, medical costs, pain and suffering, and other damages. If you think you may have a case or need to learn more, contact an experienced personal injury attorney in Miami or your community. The Flaxman Law Group, for example, has worked with ER negligence victims and personal injury victims for more than twenty five years. You can always reach the Flaxman Law Group at 866-352-9626 to discuss your concerns.

In South Florida cities such as Miami, ER negligence can involve:

• Failure to order tests. In some cases, ER doctors diagnose a patient based on symptoms and may fail to order tests that can help determine the true cause of symptoms.
• Delayed treatment. Emergency rooms have standards for wait times. Patients should be triaged right away and should get treatment in a timely manner so that they get the help they need.
• Misdiagnosis. Unfortunately, ER misdiagnosis in Miami and other communities is a serious concern and a cause for many serious injuries and fatalities and injuries. In some cases, patients die because doctors fail to correctly diagnose or test a patient and wrongfully assume that the symptoms are caused by a less-serious condition. For example, some patients who experience a heart attack may be wrongfully told that they have indigestion or something less serious and die because they are discharged from the hospital.
• Vague discharge. When a patient is discharged from the hospital, they should be given instructions about what they should do, any medications they should take, and any follow-up course of action they should take. When staff fail to issue these discharge instructions or make these instructions vague, patients may suffer severe or fatal complications.
• Misinterpretation of test results. Doctors and medical staff often order tests for ER patients and have a responsibility to review these tests carefully.
• Failure to fully evaluate a patient. Emergency room staff are expected to take the time to evaluate a patient fully and to run any appropriate tests to determine what condition may have brought them to the ER.
• Lab or test errors. In some cases, it is the laboratory or test results that are negligent in providing emergency room staff with information.
• Medication errors. In the ER, patients are often given medication as part of their treatment. It is important for staff to check dosages and allergies to prevent overdoses and drug interactions or allergic reactions.
• Monitoring failures. When ER patients are being diagnosed or treated, they should be monitored closely so that staff can see any changes in the patient’s condition.
• Failure to fully treat a patient. Under federal rules, emergency departments are expected to treat a patient until he or she is stabilized before transferring or releasing that patient.
• Sanitation issues. Sanitation issues in emergency departments can lead to infections and personal injury claims in Miami and other communities.
• Failure to follow up.
• Surgical errors. Surgical errors in Miami and other communities can include wrong site errors and anesthetic errors.

Have you been injured by emergency room negligence in Miami or another South Florida community? There are laws that can protect you and your family. For more details, contact the Flaxman Law Group for a free, no obligation consultation.