Avoidable Emergency Room Errors
An emergency room visit is a high pressure, high stress situation for everyone involved. When you are in the emergency room you often cannot decide which doctor you will see, or control what happens. In this sort of situation, when you are at your most vulnerable, an emergency room error can make a bad situation much worse. While errors in the emergency room can undoubtedly have terrible consequences, errors outside the emergency room can be just as devastating. People often must wait hours before seeing a doctor or even a nurse. These few hours can mean the difference between minor problems and serious injuries or death if, for example, you are experiencing a heart attack, stroke, appendicitis, pancreatitis, premature labor, or a number of other conditions.
Assisted by a wide range of diagnostic tools and treatment options, today’s medical professionals are able to do remarkable things. This is why a failure to properly use these tools can be so tragic. Every year, an alarming number of patients in Illinois are affected by medical negligence. Only 55% of patients in a recent random sample received “recommended care,” and as many as 98,000 people die each year as a result of “preventable medical error.”
Determining Liability For Emergency Room Errors
Emergency rooms can be crowded, frenetic places, and patients may be seen by a number of individuals during the course of a single visit. A patient may fill out paperwork for a medical assistant, explain symptoms to a medical assistant or nurse, undergo routine tests administered by a nurse, and finally see a doctor. If any one of these individuals fails to perform appropriately, or if a communication breakdown occurs at any of these stages, a patient may miss out on the treatment he or she needs. Most hospitals are able to manage the complex emergency room environment remarkably well, but those hospitals that fail must be held accountable for mistakes that can have severe consequences. By protecting the rights of emergency room malpractice victims, Chicago medical malpractice attorneys can help safeguard the high standard of care we expect from Chicago hospitals.
Illinois Emergency Room Error Lawyers
Regardless of what causes an emergency room error, hospital administrators and medical malpractice insurance company employees will inevitably try to avoid liability. In Illinois, medical malpractice claims generally must be brought within two years of when the victim discovered malpractice or reasonably should have discovered malpractice. If you suspect that you or a loved one has been a victim of an emergency room mistake, you should contact an experienced Illinois emergency room error lawyer immediately. Emergency room error cases often require careful evidence collection and complex testimony from experts. Liability may stem from a doctor’s malpractice or failure to understand your symptoms or test results, a nurse’s failure to properly conduct standard diagnostic or screening tests, or an administrator’s failure to properly organize your records. In this sort of environment, only an experienced emergency room mistake attorney can determine who did what to whom and why, and figure out exactly what went wrong. The emergency error lawyers at Lavin Law Offices have extensive experience handling emergency room errors, and are familiar with Illinois hospitals.
Contact the Chicago Emergency Room Error Lawyers at Lavin Law Offices
The medical misdiagnosis lawyers at Lavin Law Offices are committed to collecting a fair and just compensation for your loss and injuries. Because of the great responsibility entrusted to healthcare professionals, if an emergency room error occurs, those professionals may be liable for damages associated with the error including: any additional medical expenses, disfigurement or disabilities, physical pain, emotional pain and suffering, and lost wages. If you have a loved one who has died as a result of an emergency room error, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, funeral expenses, emotional pain and suffering, loss of financial support, and loss of companionship. If you or a loved one has been a victim of an emergency room mistake, contact the emergency room error attorneys at Lavin Law Offices online or at 312-849-2424.
