Unfortunately, emergency room errors are one of the most common types of medical malpractice and a top source of poor patient experiences and outcomes.
The medical staff in emergency rooms are usually incredibly busy as they are continuously providing care and treatment to patients who require urgent attention in large volumes compared to other medical settings. Because they work in such a busy environment, it is vital for them to make sure that they have a high level of attention to detail along with a sound ability to make accurate and fast medical decisions to save lives.
Patients visiting an ER are already facing an emergency medical crisis and often arrive in critical condition. In these urgent circumstances, there is simply no room for inefficiency, error or mistake by a physician entrusted to care for them or even save their lives. Sadly, it is too often the result of these circumstances that the entrusted doctors themselves rush through their care and commit emergency room errors amounting to medical malpractice at worst and poor patient experiences, at best.
The emergency room physician is responsible for the health and wellbeing of their patients, despite the rushed and urgent nature of the care setting, this means that the emergency room errors committed by them are not excusable.
Patients in the ER are often in a state of panic and are often not able to clearly communicate what has happened to them. This makes it difficult for the ER physician to diagnose them accurately. However, this does not excuse negligence and professional errors by emergency medicine physicians.
Some of the most common complications, errors and mistakes that occur in the emergency medicine setting include the following:
Such errors can make the condition of the patient worse, resulting in deterioration of the condition or even death.
If you have been a victim of emergency room errors or lost a loved one because of medical negligence by an emergency medicine doctor, then the law of West Virginia gives you the right to file a claim for medical malpractice seeking monetary recompense for your injuries, damages and losses.
The three most common errors made by emergency room physicians are:
The most common types of injuries in emergency room negligence claims are:
1. Failure to diagnose a condition, resulting in delayed treatment and worsening of the condition.
2. Failure to properly treat a condition, resulting in worsened injury or permanent disability.
3. Failure to provide adequate pain management for acute or chronic conditions, resulting in increased pain and suffering.
4. Failure to provide appropriate pre-hospital care, resulting in worsened injury or death from an injury sustained before arriving at the ER.
In order to bring a claim against an emergency room physician, you have two routes –
The complaint will then be reviewed by the medical board and they will decide if there is enough evidence to investigate. If there is, then they will open an investigation and start interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence.
This section discusses the damages that can be awarded to a plaintiff in a personal injury or wrongful death case.
A plaintiff in a personal injury or wrongful death case resulting from emergency room errors, can sue the doctor and/or facility or physician practice group alleging medical malpractice committed by emergency medicine doctors, seeking to receive compensatory damages for their losses.
These compensatory damages include the expenses that the plaintiff had to pay because of the incident, such as medical bills, lost wages, and future care and wages damages. They may also receive compensation for pain and suffering if they have suffered emotional trauma from the incident.
A plaintiff may also receive punitive damages if their injuries were intentional or reckless on behalf of the defendant. Punitive damages are awarded to punish defendants who acted in a way that was considered grossly negligent or maliciously wrong. The amount of punitive damages is determined by how much harm was caused by the defendant’s actions and how outrageous it was that they acted in the manner they did, under the circumstances. The wrongdoer’s financial wellbeing is also a factor as is whether their wrongful conduct was financially motivated at the expense of patient care.
The question of “HOW MUCH” can only be answered through a careful evaluation of the particular circumstances of your case – your injuries, damages, the nature of the wrongful conduct, and the repercussions to your life and that of your loved ones. You should seek the help of a competent and experienced medical malpractice lawyer to help you evaluate your case.
Send us a message to contact our highly experienced Morgantown WV medical malpractice attorneys to help evaluate your case, or call us directly to find out how we can help you!
West Virginia law states that a statute of limitations is the time period within which an injured person can file a lawsuit for medical malpractice.
The applicable statute of limitations stated in the WV Medical Professional Liability Act, the statute of limitations on a West Virginia malpractice claim against an emergency medicine physician or hospital is two years.
Hospitals and doctors are not always at fault for medical malpractice. Sometimes, it is the nurses and other ancillary hospital staff who are to blame. In these cases, you will want to find an attorney that specializes in medical malpractice cases against hospitals and doctors.
Some of the best attorneys specialize in medical malpractice cases against hospitals and doctors. These attorneys have a lot of experience with these types of cases and can help ensure that you get the best settlement possible.
At Adams Legal Group PLLC, our Morgantown WV medical malpractice attorneys can fight your case and make sure that you get the claim for medical malpractice in full and fairly. However, to collect claim and represent your case aggressively, you must have proof such as:
Our attorney will review your case to determine if the provider was negligent and also provide you with quality guidance and assistance in collecting proof for emergency room errors.
With a few exceptions, the law of West Virginia requires medical malpractice claims to be filed within a span of 2 years from the date of injury due to emergency room error. So, don’t delay the process, get in touch with us today.
Please call us on local phone (304) 381-2166 or toll free (855) 822-0140 to schedule an initial consultation or click the button to start a conversation with us through a simple message.
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