Five Most Common Emergency Room Errors

Five Most Common Emergency Room Errors

Emergency rooms are fast-paced and high-pressure environments where mistakes happen, regardless of how skilled or experienced the staff is or how reputable the hospital is. Regrettably, these mistakes often result in life-altering consequences such as severe injury or death. Below, Pegalis Law Group, LLC closely examines the five most common emergency room errors and statistics every ER patient should know. Knowing why and how often these errors happen and what to do if you or a loved one is affected is in your best interest as a proactive patient.

1. Misdiagnosis/Wrong Diagnosis

Statistics show that about 130 million people visit a U.S. emergency room annually. Out of those, about one out of every 18 patients will receive a misdiagnosis. Top misdiagnosed conditions include strokes, aortic aneurysms, spinal cord injuries, myocardial infarctions, and venous thromboembolism. Because many health conditions share similar symptoms, medical diagnosis can be challenging even in a less hectic environment. Misdiagnoses happen due to the omission of valuable information from patients and ER personnel not having the time to consider all possibilities or ordering enough testing for proper assessments. Snap decisions often result in costly medical errors.

2. Delayed Treatments

Although emergency room patients require urgent care, many ERs are overcrowded and short-staffed and may struggle to see every patient as quickly as needed. Long wait times, delays in arrival, and treatment delays for trauma and non-trauma patients may increase the risk of complications. When time is of the essence, the result could be a worsened medical condition or even death. Delayed treatment usually results from how long it takes to triage (assign the patient’s degree of urgency depending on their illness or wound), diagnose the issue, and get a patient admitted to an emergency room bed. Not having enough specialists available around the clock or multiple emergencies occurring simultaneously may also contribute to delayed treatments.

3. Being Discharged Too Quickly

Sadly, many ER patients are sent home before receiving the level of urgent care they need due to a lack of allocated resources and hospital overcrowding. Nearly 20% of patients may experience adverse events within a few weeks of discharge, especially if they were discharged too early or before they were accurately diagnosed. Sometimes, patients aren’t given enough information to continue monitoring their treatment at home, often resulting in infection or other complications. Other times, short-staffing may result in physicians being unable to follow up properly with the patient after their ER discharge.

4. Medication Errors/Adverse Drug Events

Medication errors occur when patients are prescribed the wrong medications or dosages. Administering the wrong medication or dosage can have deadly consequences, resulting in bleeding complications, clotting risks, overdoses, and more. Miscommunication is often the culprit. It’s estimated that adverse drug events happen in nearly 5% of hospitalizations, affecting nearly 700,000 ER patients every year.

5. Improper/Incorrect Medical Procedures

ER staff may not be familiar with every area of medicine, often resulting in the wrong procedures being recommended or procedures being performed incorrectly. The level of severity ranges from incorrectly or poorly administered stitches to administering the wrong type of surgery (rarer). Improper lab testing – ordering the wrong tests, not ordering enough tests for proper diagnosis, or misinterpreting lab test results – also accounts for many emergency room errors that could be prevented.

Has It Happened to You? Talk to a Medical Malpractice Law Firm

It’s estimated nearly 60% of emergency room errors are due to human error or negligence, although some errors may be caused by organizational or technical issues. If you or a loved one have suffered severe harm due to someone else’s negligence, talk to an experienced medical malpractice law firm to see if you have a case. Time may be of the essence, as different statutes of limitation may apply.

Focused on Patient Medical Malpractice Issues for 50+ Years

As a New York-based personal injury and medical malpractice law firm for 50+ years, Pegalis Law Group, LLC cares about creating proactive patients. Please visit our website and follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for more tips to keep you and your loved ones happy and healthy this year.