As we move into the colder months in the Pacific Northwest, inclement weather, such as snow and ice, may lead to more car accidents and slip-and-fall injuries. Emergency rooms in Washington state may see an increase in the number of patients coming through their doors with injuries ranging from relatively minor scrapes to more severe—or even life-threatening—conditions. Emergency rooms play a critical role in the larger healthcare system, as they provide immediate care to those in need of treatment for acute injuries and illnesses. According to the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA), visits to emergency departments have grown significantly within the last decade. In response to this growing demand for emergency room services, the WSHA partnered with the Washington State Medical Association and the Washington State Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians to develop a program that encourages patients to save ER visits for emergencies. Clearly, there is a substantial need for high-quality emergency room services throughout Washington state, and patients have good reason to expect that their healthcare providers will treat them with the professionalism and care they deserve when they walk through the door.
Unfortunately, errors on the part of emergency room staff can lead to delays in diagnosis or misdiagnoses, treatment errors, medication mishaps, improper discharge issues, and other acts of negligence that can cause the patient to suffer further harm or injury. The chaotic environment of the emergency room may mean that your doctors or nurses (who are often understaffed) are distracted or inattentive to your needs, resulting in poor-quality care. If you or a loved one has suffered harm because of emergency room negligence, you may be entitled to recover compensation to redress the physical, emotional, and financial hardships you endured as a result of the healthcare worker’s careless or negligent actions. At Menzer Law, we manage every case we take on with an unwavering commitment to justice, providing personalized legal representation to secure fair and substantial financial recovery and accountability for our clients. When you request a complimentary case review with us, our experienced team will carefully evaluate your claim to ensure it aligns with our specialized areas of expertise. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at the various types of ER malpractice and how you can pursue a medical malpractice claim in Washington state to recover the compensation you deserve to support your recovery.
Recognizing Emergency Room Negligence in Washington State
Understandably, emergency rooms can be busy and chaotic. Doctors, nurses, and other medical staff who work in emergency rooms are often presented with patients with acute injuries and illnesses that require immediate care and treatment. These healthcare professionals must make decisions quickly (sometimes within a matter of minutes) to ensure that patients with life-threatening concerns obtain the emergency care they need. In the hustle and bustle of this setting, errors can happen that can worsen the patient’s symptoms, introduce new injuries, or otherwise inflict further harm to the patient entrusted into the medical provider’s care. Below are just a few of the most common types of emergency room errors that can occur when a patient seeks emergency treatment for an illness or injury.
Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis
When the doctor or emergency room worker evaluates a patient seeking immediate care, they must determine which diagnostic assessments or tests are necessary to determine the proper diagnosis and the proper treatment. In some cases, the healthcare professional may fail to order the right tests or imaging needed to accurately diagnose the condition, leading to a misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis. For example, neglecting to order a test that would have revealed cancerous tumors could lead to a delay in the cancer diagnosis, putting the patient at further risk of serious harm as the illness progresses without the needed treatment. In other cases, someone may not interpret the results of a test, MRI scan, or lab result correctly, causing them to overlook a serious medical condition or illness. Generally speaking, if an emergency room provider should have identified or diagnosed a threatening or severe medical issue but failed to do so, you may be entitled to file a medical malpractice claim against this negligent person as well as the hospital.
Medication Errors in Emergency Room Settings
Medical malpractice cases can also arise from medication errors. If a nurse or doctor ordered the wrong medication to administer during your emergency room visit, or they administered an incorrect dosage that triggered adverse effects, this may constitute medical malpractice. Moreover, failing to check for allergies or other medications the patient regularly takes before prescribing or administering a new medication can create dangerous drug interactions that can cause serious harm to the patient. Learn more about medical malpractice in Washington involving medication errors by contacting the dedicated and caring legal team at Menzer Law today.
Failure to Monitor and Emergency Room Discharge Errors
The efforts of emergency room staff to treat patients effectively and discharge them as swiftly as possible in order to accommodate new patients can lead to premature discharges that compromise patient safety and health. For instance, an emergency room worker may prioritize the discharge of a patient and, in doing so, neglect to monitor their blood pressure and heart rate before discharging them. In some cases, such an early discharge may fail to detect symptoms of a stroke or heart attack, leaving the patient vulnerable and without proper immediate care. Or, a doctor or nurse may fail to provide the patient with clear instructions for follow-up care when discharging them from the emergency room. If you believe you were the victim of emergency room negligence in the greater Seattle area, Menzer Law is ready to review your case and determine whether it aligns with our specialized areas of expertise.
Elements of an Emergency Room Medical Malpractice Claim
Building an effective emergency room medical malpractice claim takes time and focus. Essentially, you and your attorney will need to prove compelling evidence of the medical provider’s failure to uphold the standard of care owed to you (and all patients entrusted to their care) and that this failure caused you serious harm. Below are the four essential elements of a successful medical malpractice claim in Washington state.
Duty of Care
First, you will need to establish that the medical professional had a duty to provide competent care. In other words, the licensed individual doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professional owes the patients they serve a certain professional standard of care. To prove this element, you need only show that a patient and health care provider relationship existed at the time of your emergency room visit. This duty is assumed whenever a doctor or other medical professional undertakes the care of a patient in that setting.
Breach of Duty
Next, you will need to show that the health care provider at issue failed to meet the standard of care expected of them in their role, for example, as a doctor or a nurse practicing in the field of Emergency Medicine. In the great majority of cases it is necessary to retain an expert witness in the same field or medicine or speciality to testify that any other reasonable, similarly situated medical professional would have provided a certain standard of care and that the doctor or nurse in question failed to meet this standard when they treated you.
The Medical Professional’s Failure Harmed the Patient
The third element of a successful Washington medical malpractice claim involves establishing a clear line between the medical worker’s breach of duty and the harm the patient suffered as a result of this failure. For example, if you can show through expert testimony that that the attending physician’s failure to order a certain test or imaging study led to a delayed diagnosis of cancer, and that delay led to the cancer advancing to a terminal condition, then you have met this third element for a successful malpractice claim.
You Are Entitled to Recover Damages
Finally, your medical malpractice claim must establish that the harm you suffered due to the malpractice led to damages that can be compensated in a legal action. Your attorney can help you calculate the financial toll of your injuries, including past and future medical costs, and past and future loss of income stemming from the injuries you suffered at the hands of a negligent emergency room provider. In most cases involving serious injuries resulting from medical malpractice, you will also be entitled to additional compensation for the emotional trauma and mental anguish you endured because of the hospital worker’s negligent actions.
Explore Your Options Today
Medical malpractice claims involving emergency room negligence can be difficult to prosecute because health care workers in that setting are tasked with providing medical care and treatment to persons who need immediate care under sometimes chaotic conditions. However, the law allows patients harmed by medical negligence in any setting, including emergency rooms and urgent care facilities, to pursue and recover compensation for their injuries. When you enlist the guidance of a highly qualified legal team, you can trust them to do what is needed to prosecute claims of emergency room malpractice while you focus on what matters most—your recovery.
Menzer Law has specialized in medical malpractice cases for over three decades. Our dedicated team is highly skilled at managing the complexities of healthcare-related negligence and is ready to support you in pursuing a claim or lawsuit to secure the compensation you deserve. We are selective in our cases so that we can channel our resources where we believe we can make the most significant impact. Please call our Seattle office today at (206) 903-1818 to arrange a complimentary case evaluation.