Injuries and health issues that result in a trip to the emergency room or an urgent care facility are common but require emergency screening and immediate attention to a patient’s medical needs. However chaotic an emergency room may be, doctors and hospital staff members must adhere to strict rules and procedures to prevent additional harm. 

An emergency room nurse and doctor must decide which patients have true emergencies that require hospitalization or additional tests and which patients can be released with instructions to see a family physician or specialist.

Because many emergency facilities are understaffed and have too many patients, employees sometimes attempt to release or turn over patients quickly to make room for the next. This can lead to a hastily-made mistake or misdiagnosis. These errors in judgment can lead to worsening of symptoms, catastrophic injury or death.                                                                                                                                                 

Common emergency room and urgent care facility errors include:

• Delayed or Wrong Diagnosis
• Failure to Request Consultation by a Specialist
• Failure to Order Appropriate Testing or Misinterpreting Test Results
• Failure to admit to the hospital
• Physician assistant and nursing care without physician involvement
• Surgical Errors
• Contaminated Blood Transfusions
• EMT or Physician Neglect
• Improper monitoring of vital signs and changes in condition

When doctors or nurses make these errors, patients can suffer from many serious injuries, including:

• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Infection or Sepsis
• Internal Bleeding or Hemorrhaging
• Brain Aneurysm/Herniation
• Pulmonary Embolism
• Paralysis
• Death

If a doctor or nurse was negligent or didn’t follow the rules, policies, and procedures, the hospital can be held liable for the victim’s damages.