Emergency room doctors are required to follow well-established standards of care when evaluating and treating patients. Catastrophic injury or death can result when the doctor minimizes the patient's condition and either discharges the patient to home without the proper diagnosis or fails to provide proper treatment in the emergency room.

 

Common errors in the emergency room include:

 

• Failure to follow established protocols when evaluating chest pain

 

• Failure to diagnose heart attack

 

• Failure to diagnose pulmonary embolism

 

• Failure to diagnose aortic dissection

 

• Failure to follow established protocols when evaluating headaches

 

• Failure to diagnose bacterial meningitis

 

• Failure to diagnose bleeding in or about the brain

 

• Failure to follow established protocols when evaluating head injuries

 

• Failure to administer proper medication

 

• Failure to obtain consultation from appropriate specialists

 

• Failure to order required tests or imaging studies

 

Errors in the emergency room account for a large percentage of malpractice claims and often involve catastrophic injury or death.

 

If you or a family member have suffered a catastrophic injury or loss due to medical malpractice, contact Bill Maddix, your Minnesota medical malpractice attorney, for a free consultation.