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Wisconsin Emergency Room
Error Attorneys
Error Attorneys
representing victims of medical malpractice
Working with us on Emergency Room Error Cases
In 2011, 20% of Americans reported at least one visit to the emergency room within the past year.* Often busy and sometimes understaffed, the emergency room is among the top hospital departments responsible for medical malpractice suits. The average wait time to see a physician in the ER is 55 minutes.* Lack of access to a patient’s full medical history may have an exacerbating effect on the rate of medical errors. Heart attacks, appendicitis and fractures are among the most common conditions associated with emergency room errors.
Diagnostic Errors in the ER
The largest number of emergency room errors involve misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis or failure to diagnose. Diagnostic errors can result in delayed treatment or a complete failure to treat a serious medical condition. Other times, patients receive inappropriate or potentially harmful treatment. Such errors can result in irreversible damage or even death. The most common types of emergency room errors include:
- Delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose
- Delayed or incorrect treatment
- Failure to fully evaluate or treat a patient’s condition
- Faulty laboratory tests
- Contaminated blood transfusions
- Prescribing wrong medication
- Failure to monitor a patient
Diagnostic errors may result in the patient not receiving appropriate medical care for serious conditions such as:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Pulmonary embolism
- Appendicitis
- Pancreatitis