Mission Viejo Emergency Room Errors Lawyer

It is no secret that emergency rooms are chaotic and fast-paced. 30 percent of emergency room-related medical malpractice lawsuits involve misdiagnosis. Combine that with the fact that emergency room doctors and nurses are often overworked and understaffed, and critical medical errors, misdiagnosis, or inadequate treatment can be all too common. This can result in additional injuries, pain and suffering, long-term damages, or even death.

If you visited an emergency room and did not receive the medical care you deserved, or were even injured as a result of an error, you may be entitled to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. When you visit an emergency room, you should receive the best medical treatment possible, and understaffing or a doctor’s stress should not compromise this. Contact a knowledgeable Mission Viejo emergency room lawyer about filing a personal injury claim on your behalf. It may be critical to the future of your recovery to contact a skilled medical malpractice lawyer about your case.

Common ER Error Causes

Even though emergency rooms are supposed to be a safe place for people seeking urgent care, medical errors commonly happen for a number of reasons. For example, emergency rooms are often overcrowded and understaffed, making it difficult to determine which patients should be given priority. This means that a patient’s condition can worsen the longer they wait for their turn to be seen by a doctor.

Since emergency rooms staff can feel the affects of stress or fatigue and the pressure of time, proper tests may not be administered in a timely fashion or split-second, rushed decisions can lead to critical misdiagnoses.

Common Emergency Room Errors

Although the top emergency room error in the United States is misdiagnosis, there are many other errors that can lead to a medical malpractice claim, including:

  • Anesthesia malpractice
  • Lab test errors
  • Contaminated blood transfusions
  • Surgical errors
  • Paramedic neglect
  • Not properly monitoring patients
  • Pharmacy errors
  • Failure to administer tests or properly examine test results
  • Delayed diagnosis
  • Failure to inquire about medical history

Typical Injuries Caused by Emergency Room Errors

In Mission Viejo, critical emergency room errors can lead to disastrous injuries or death. One of the most common injuries that can happen as a result of ER errors is a heart attack. This is because patients who come into the emergency room with chest pains may not be taken seriously or prioritized above other patients, causing them to have heart attacks in the waiting room. Other types of injuries caused by emergency room errors may include:

  • Stroke
  • Appendicitis
  • Internal bleeding
  • Brain aneurysm
  • Infection
  • Death

Seeking Potential Compensation

Individuals who were injured as a result of an ER error could receive compensation for both current and future medical expense, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, emotional distress, loss of quality of life, pain and suffering, and more. Fortunately, under California law, there is no cap on the amount of compensation patients can receive for economic damages. However, non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, carry a limit of $250,000 in California. 

ERs are meant to help those in urgent need of medical care, regardless if a hospital is understaffed or if medical professionals are overworked. If you were the victim of an emergency room error, you deserve compensation for your injuries. Get in touch with a Mission Viejo ER error lawyer now to learn more about your rights.