Emergency Room Errors

Medical Mistakes in Emergency Rooms

Emergency rooms have policies and protocols that address almost any situation that may arise in the ER. Emergency room errors are often a failure of the ER staff to follow these established protocols. These failures can lead to serious injuries and wrongful death.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys

There are recognized risks in the emergency room. ER medical professionals are trained to recognize and manage those risks. At Gray Ritter Graham in St. Louis, our medical malpractice lawyers and nurse paralegals review emergency room errors to determine how they occurred and why.

• A common emergency room error is wrongfully sending a patient home. A doctor may determine that the patient has a minor ailment and send the patient home. For example, Meningitis might be mistaken for flu or a heart attack might be mistaken for a digestive problem. Upon leaving the ER, the patient’s condition then deteriorates drastically. Meningitis might be mistaken for flu or a heart attack might be mistaken for a digestive problem. Failure to diagnose and a failure to admit a patient can intensify the danger and, in some cases, lead to catastrophic injury or death.
• A mistake in triage can mean a seriously ill patient is not seen soon enough. This delay may result in increased damage or even death.
• The result can be devastating when a patient’s condition changes and no one is monitoring or responding to that change. The failure to perform repeat monitoring can complicate the injury and even lead to death of the patient.

ER mistakes can cause injuries and cost lives.

The medical malpractice attorneys and nurse paralegals at GRG know how to review medical records and, working with experts, determine if the damage to a patient is the result of emergency room malpractice.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured because of a mistake made in the emergency room, let us help you. It costs nothing to call and ask us to review your case. Contact us as soon as possible so that we can begin our investigation. We represent clients in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and the surrounding region.