If you need a Utah emergency room error lawyer, it’s likely because the care you counted on let you down. When you visit an emergency room, you need to be able to rely on the medical professionals who treat you and determine the next steps. Unfortunately, mistakes happen, and sometimes emergency room errors have serious consequences
If you were harmed or your medical condition has worsened due to a mistake in an emergency room, you should speak with a Salt Lake City emergency room error lawyer right away. The attorneys at Allred, Vogt & Stuart (AVS) have extensive experience helping victims of medical malpractice. Our attorneys are committed to seeking the best possible outcome for you, based on your needs and the specifics of your case.
You can schedule a free consultation right now by calling (801) 876-7771 or filling out the contact form on this page.
How Common are Salt Lake City Emergency Room Errors?
Nationwide, emergency rooms have a diagnostic error rate of about 5.7%. That’s just misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose, and doesn’t include medication errors, failure to monitor or other types of malpractice.
Overall, about 2% of emergency room visits result in an adverse event, and about .3% result in serious harm to the patient. Those are small percentages, but not small numbers. On average, more than 1 million people visit Utah emergency rooms each year. That translates to about 20,000 adverse events and about 3,000 patients suffering serious harm.
When is an Emergency Room Error Medical Malpractice?
Not every negative outcome gives rise to a medical malpractice case. To establish a malpractice claim for emergency room errors or any other type of medical negligence, you and your Salt Lake City lawyer will have to show that the doctor or facility failed to live up to the accepted standard of care in the profession.
The standard of care is specific to the circumstances, such as the presenting symptoms and patient history. In some types of cases, specialists may be held to a higher standard than a general practitioner or family physician. The best way to find out whether you may have a medical malpractice claim is to talk to an emergency room error lawyer as soon as possible after you discover that you may have been misdiagnosed or otherwise treated negligently.
Common Types of Emergency Room Malpractice
Any failure to live up to the standard of care that leads to injury or other harm may lead to a medical malpractice claim. Some of the most common types of malpractice occurring in emergency rooms include:
- Failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis, either because the physician fails to run appropriate testing for the circumstances or simply fails to recognize an illness or medical condition when they should have.
- Delayed diagnosis, which may allow the condition to worsen, leading to more significant treatment requirements or worse outcomes.
- Medication errors, including giving the wrong medication, giving the wrong dosage, or giving a medication the patient is allergic to or that interacts badly with another medication they are taking.
- Infection, caused by contaminated instruments, failure of healthcare professionals to properly sanitize and put on fresh gloves and other violations of safety protocols.
These errors can occur for a variety of reasons, including:
- Understaffing in emergency departments, which can cause longer wait times, the nurse or physician spending less time with the patient, failure to follow up on test results and communication errors.
- Emergency room staff failing to collect sufficient information and so operating on incomplete medical histories and medication records.
- Inadequate training of emergency room staff, which can mean safety protocols getting skipped or not being carried out properly.
- Physician and staff fatigue, which can increase the likelihood of human errors such as missing the meaning of a symptom or administering the wrong medication.
What To Do if You Suspect Emergency Room Malpractice in Salt Lake City
If you believe you have been harmed by a medical error in an emergency room or any other medical care setting, you should do two things right away:
- Seek medical care from a different provider as soon as possible. Depending on the type of error, you may need medical help such as:
- Treatment for the injury or infection you suffered
- Correct diagnosis of your untreated condition
- Treatment for your actual condition, which can be time sensitive
- Speak to a Utah lawyer who has extensive experience with medical malpractice cases.
The primary reason to go to another emergency room or see another physician right away is that delaying proper diagnosis and treatment can be dangerous. Having outside medical records close-in-time to the errors can also help you prove that the original physician or facility was negligent.
Why Do You Need a Utah Emergency Room Error Lawyer
Medical malpractice cases are more complicated than many other types of negligence cases in two important ways. So, it’s very important to work with an attorney who has extensive experience with cases like yours.
Utah Medical Malpractice Procedures are Different
There are different and more complex procedural rules for filing a medical malpractice case in Utah. These include providing at least 90 days advance notice of a medical malpractice filing and having the claim reviewed by a prelitigation panel.
Determining how long you have to file your emergency room errors case may also be more complicated than with another type of negligence claim. The general statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases in Utah is shorter than for most other types of injury cases. And, in some cases, there are special rules for when the statute of limitations starts running. The best way to protect your claim is to talk to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible after you suspect an error.
Emergency Room Errors Cases are Technical and Require Medical Experts
Successfully pursuing a medical malpractice claim requires an in-depth understanding of both the applicable standard of care and the medical issues involved. Expert witnesses are required to establish both liability and damages, and it’s important that your law firm is accustomed to working with medical experts and able to understand and make use of the expert’s evidence and conclusions.
Why Choose AVS as Your Utah Emergency Room Error Lawyer?
At AVS, we have the experience necessary to manage both the technical and procedural aspects of your case and the substantive medical evidence. We routinely work successfully with medical experts to establish both liability and damages, and know how to find and work with the right expert for a specific case.
We are also dedicated to fighting for the best possible outcome for you. We know there’s no cookie-cutter approach to malpractice claims, and we aren’t looking for a quick settlement for some firms. We’ll assess your case based on the strength of the case, the extent of your injuries, the medical records available, the damages you’ve suffered and your goals and priorities. Then, we will move forward in the way that best suits your situation, whether it’s negotiating a settlement or presenting your case to a Salt Lake City jury.
To learn more about how our experienced emergency room errors attorneys can help, contact us right away at (801) 876-7771 or fill out our contact form. The initial consultation is free and there’s no obligation.
