Chicago Emergency Room Malpractice Lawyer

Helping Medical Neglect Victims Recover

Every year, millions of Americans put their lives in the hands of emergency room doctors and staff. However, half of all medical malpractice cases occur in emergency rooms. Patients do not have a choice when they come to the emergency room. Because their lives are in jeopardy, they do not have the ability to look for alternatives and assess the quality of care they are being offered by medical providers in their area. At Walner Law®, our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers can help you recover the compensation you deserve for medical bills, wrongful death, and beyond.

Call (312) 410-8496 or send us a message to request a free consultation with a malpractice lawyer in Chicago.

Emergency Room Mistakes

Emergency rooms are high-stress environments that are often too crowded and understaffed. The doctors and nurses must respond quickly to life-and-death situations. They must care for patients they have never treated before, under the pressure of the urgent need for timely treatment.

Trauma centers are obligated to make emergency rooms as efficient and safe as possible to establish a high standard of care for those facing severe medical emergencies. They seek to minimize the chance of errors by implementing and enforcing strict policies, along with the proper screening and training of their staff.

However, errors do occur. Some of the more common emergency room mistakes include:

• Failure to fully evaluate a patient
• Misdiagnosis
• Contaminated blood transfusions
• Failure to diagnose or a delayed diagnosis
• Lab errors
• Failure to properly monitor a patient
• Inappropriate medications or improper doses
• Errors during surgery
• Medical negligence
• Failure to fully treat a patient or delayed treatment

The Result of Negligence or Wrongdoing

Sadly, emergency room mistakes are often the result of hospital negligence or wrongdoing. This can mean anything from failure to properly screen doctors and support staff to improper record keeping.

Other examples of negligence in emergency rooms include:

• Insufficient training
• Unsanitary conditions
• Inadequate patient tracking procedures
• Medication errors
• Unethical policies (such as discrimination)
• Inadequate facilities
• Failure to maintain a sufficient number of doctors and support staff for every shift

More Common Than the Media Portrays

When the essential steps of treating an emergency room patient are circumvented, an emergency error is likely to occur. Errors in hospital emergency rooms are a common occurrence but are rarely publicized because they are kept quiet by the media. Ill-equipped emergency rooms may result in fatal errors while patients are waiting for or undergoing necessary emergency treatment. Some estimates say that each year, more than 225,000 patients die from injuries related to medical malpractice. Almost half of those deaths are the result of emergency room errors.

Do you need the support of an experienced emergency room malpractice lawyer to take the first step in pursuing a lawsuit? Your initial call to Walner Law® to discuss your unique situation is always free, and we work on a contingency basis. This means you pay no fees unless we win your case.

If you have been the victim of emergency room malpractice and you live in the Chicago area, please call (312) 410-8496 or message our office today for a free initial consultation.