Emergency Room Errors
Serving Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and surrounding areas
Emergency rooms are very high stress, fast paced environments. The doctors and medical staff in emergency rooms work long, grueling hours treating high volumes of patients exhibiting a wide range of symptoms and conditions. Frequently, emergency room patients are in serious condition and timely treatment is of the essence.
Simply put, the stakes are very high in emergency rooms. The slightest error on the part of a doctor or staff member can result in serious injury, permanent disability, and in extreme cases wrongful death.
Trips to the emergency room are not expected. You have not had the time to conduct a search for the right doctor to treat your condition. You are stuck with the doctors and staff on duty at the time, and most likely, your emergency room visit may require some of the most serious medical attention you will ever need in your life.
Causes of Emergency Room Errors
Medical malpractice resulting from emergency room errors is frequently caused by:
- Understaffing
- Inadequate training
- Failure to screen doctors and support staff
- Record keeping errors
- Inadequate patient tracking procedures
- Improper administration of medication
- Unsanitary conditions
- Inadequate facilities
Common Emergency Room Errors
Negligent care can result in a wide variety of errors on the part of your emergency room staff. Some of the most common emergency room errors include:
- Failure to fully evaluate a patient
- Failure to fully treat a patient
- Failure to properly monitor a patient
- Delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, or failure to diagnose
- Medication errors
- Laboratory errors
- Contaminated blood transfusions
- Surgical errors
- Delayed treatment
- Patient dumping
- Premature discharge
Patient dumping is perhaps the most unconscionable of all of these errors. Often, when patients do not have insurance or cannot demonstrate an ability to pay for their medical care, emergency rooms will deny treatment or delay treatment until other paying customers have been examined. These actions are clearly unethical and violate a doctor's Hippocratic Oath. The consequences of patient dumping can be severe without proper treatment, many of these patients may die.
Excellence in Medical Malpractice Law
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 115.3 million people receive emergency room treatment each year. Approximately half of the 225,000 medical malpractice-related deaths each year result from emergency room errors. When emergency room doctors and staff fail to provide you with proper treatment, they must be held accountable for their negligent actions.
The attorneys at Stipe Injury Law have been successfully fighting for the rights of injured individuals for decades. We have handled many medical malpractice cases, and we understand the nuances and complexities involved in emergency room error litigation. We have the skills needed to help you receive the settlement you deserve.
If you have been the victim of an emergency room error, please contact the Oklahoma City medical malpractice attorneys at Stipe Injury Law today to schedule a consultation.
Although medical professionals are required by law to exercise the utmost care, skill and diligence when treating their patients, it is estimated that over 90,000 people every year are either injured or killed due to physician or nurse error. 
When workers are injured, employers and their workers compensation insurance carrier are responsible for providing those employees with the medical care they need as quickly as possible. 
If you are disabled, and can no longer work, the federal government offers disability payments to individuals who qualify under the Social Security Disability Insurance plan. 
