Laguna Hills Emergency Room Errors Lawyer

People typically visit hospital emergency rooms and urgent care facilities to seek immediate treatment for a pressing injury, or as a last resort when the doctor’s office is closed. Due to the high number of patients who seek treatment at these facilities, staff members, including physicians, nurses, and administrators, are usually overworked, and the environment is extremely chaotic.

Physicians and nurses must treat each individual patient quickly and efficiently to make room for the next patient. Because of this stressful and fast-paced environment, patients sometimes do not receive the proper care and treatment they need and deserve, and medical mistakes are often made.

In order to properly get compensation for the time and expenses spent after an injury, a harmed individual should enlist the help of a Laguna Hills emergency room errors attorney as soon as possible. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will be able to assist in recovering damages and ensuring you know what to expect at each step of the claims process.

Proving ER Malpractice

In most cases, emergency room negligence takes the form of misdiagnosing a medical condition or administering the wrong medication to a patient, leading to further illnesses, injuries, and damages. To prove negligence in the emergency room or urgent care setting, a few elements must be satisfied.

Doctor-Patient Relationship

The patient must first prove that a doctor-patient relationship existed. Of the three necessary elements, this one is usually the easiest to prove because it only requires simple documentation. A doctor-patient relationship can typically be established by examining and producing a patient’s emergency room or urgent care records. The emergency room doctor need not provide additional post-emergency room follow-up care to establish that a doctor-patient relationship existed.

How is Negligence Proven in Emergency Room Error Cases?

Emergency room treatment must involve the negligence of a health care provider, typically, a physician. In this context, negligence means a failure to provide the standard of care that a reasonably prudent, competent doctor would have provided under the same or similar circumstances.

Because of the hectic emergency room environment, the standard of care for an emergency room doctor is not as high as it would be for a specialist, such as an orthopedist or a heart surgeon. Specifics regarding the standards of care that are applicable to emergency room physicians, specialists, and other health care providers can be found in the California civil jury instructions.

Once the standard of care has been established, the patient must then prove that the standard was breached, meaning that the healthcare provider fell short of the applicable standard of care under the circumstances. This breach is usually established by expert testimony at trial, and can be assisted by an experienced Laguna Hills emergency room errors lawyer.

What Damages Are Available in Laguna Hills ER Malpractice Cases?

To prove emergency room negligence, the patient must have suffered damages. The patient’s damages typically include high medical and/or physical therapy bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and loss of enjoyment of life. A Laguna Hills emergency room errors lawyer can better aid an individual in determining the appropriate documents needed.

Get Compensated with a Laguna Hills ER Error Attorney

Working as an emergency room physician is a challenging position for a physician to hold, given the extremely hectic work environment. It is also important to note that even good ER physicians and urgent care doctors can make mistakes, but when they do, they should be held accountable for their negligent acts when treating patients for emergency illnesses and urgent medical conditions.

If you have been medically injured because of a healthcare provider’s negligence in an emergency room or urgent care setting, it is important to enlist the help of a Laguna Hills emergency room errors attorney as soon as possible.