Connecticut Emergency Room Error Attorneys

Understanding Emergency Room Errors

Emergency rooms are high-stress environments in which nurses and doctors must make snap decisions with potentially life-altering consequences. As such, ER doctors and nurses are held to a different standard of care than many other medical professionals. The law recognizes that mistakes are more likely to happen in emergency room settings—but that does not mean ER doctors and nurses are excused from providing patients with an acceptable level of care.

Unfortunately, emergency room errors are fairly common, and the consequences can be devastating. If you believe that you or your loved one failed to receive proper care in the ER, including being sent home only to experience worsened symptoms, you could have grounds for a medical malpractice claim.

At RisCassi & Davis, P.C., we have been helping injured victims and the families of those wrongfully killed since 1955 and have secured tens of millions of dollars for our clients in our decades in practice. We are committed to using our experience, resources, skill, and the expertise of our seven National Board of Trial Advocacy Board Certified Civil Trial Law Advocates to pursue justice on your behalf.

There are no attorneys’ fees unless we win your case; contact us online or call (860) 245-2412 to request a free, no-obligation consultation with our emergency room error lawyers in Connecticut. 

Examples of Common Emergency Room Errors

As previously mentioned, ER doctors and nurses are held to a different standard of care than other medical providers. This makes it somewhat more difficult to pursue a negligence claim against an ER facility, but there are certain times in which ER doctors, nurses, and staff have been clearly negligent. When patients’ lives are on the line, negligence is never acceptable.

Some common emergency room errors include:

• Misdiagnosis
• Failure to diagnose/treat
• Delayed diagnosis
• Delayed treatment
• Early discharge
• Medication mistakes
• Improper blood transfusion
• Failure to administer proper tests
• Improper analysis of test results
• Laboratory errors
• Failure to follow up
• Unsanitary conditions
• X-ray errors

Emergency room doctors and nurses are specifically trained to prioritize patients, assess patients’ symptoms quickly, and provide quick diagnoses and treatment for a range of emergency medical conditions. When they fail in this duty or are otherwise negligent, the consequences for patients and their families can be devastating—and often fatal.

Premature Discharge Leading to Heart Attack

One of the most common emergency room errors we see occurs when a patient visits the ER with concerning symptoms—such as pain or tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, and weakness/lightheadedness—only to be diagnosed with a non-serious condition and sent home. Unfortunately, this often leads to the patient experiencing a heart attack once they have left the ER, often with deadly results.

Sadly, women are significantly more affected by this issue than men. This is because women often do not experience chest pain and/or pressure as a symptom of a heart attack, whereas men frequently do. As a result, women are more likely to be sent home from the ER with a diagnosis of acid reflux, a panic attack, anxiety, or some other less-serious condition. Often these women never even receive a diagnostic test in the ER.

When a patient visits the ER with any heart attack symptoms, ER personnel is responsible for—at minimum—doing the following:

• Immediately screening the patient, which involves asking the patient about his or her symptoms and when they began
• Immediately monitoring the patient’s pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature, among other vital signs
• Begin immediate electrocardiogram (ECG) heart monitor screening
• Ask about the patient’s medical history, including prior instances of heart disease and any medications the patient is taking
• Conduct appropriate tests to determine if the patient is experiencing a heart attack, which may include blood tests, a chest x-ray, an angiogram, CT scans or MRIs, and more

It is unacceptable for a patient with heart attack symptoms to be sent home from the emergency room without being properly tested or monitored. Unfortunately, it can and does happen. If this happened to you or your loved one, you have the right to seek justice.

Talk to a Connecticut emergency room error lawyer about your case today; call RisCassi & Davis, P.C. at (860) 245-2412 for a free consultation.