Florida ER Errors: A Guide to Your Rights & Compensation
Experienced medical malpractice attorneys fighting for the rights of patients injured because of ER mistakes in Tampa
Emergency rooms are busy, crowded places, and as the name implies, doctors and nurses are frequently dealing with medical emergencies.
The rapid pace of these environments makes them more susceptible to mistakes than other medical settings, so it’s essential that healthcare providers stay alert to the possibility of errors and hospitals put the proper procedures in place to ensure their ER departments run as safely as possible.
Learn how we can help with your claim after an ER mistake by scheduling a free consultation.
When crucial emergency room errors happen that result in patient harm, the lawyers at Palmer Lopez are ready to apply our more than 3 decades of Tampa medical malpractice experience to help patients recover compensation for the harm that’s been done to them in the form of additional medical bills, lost income from missing work, pain and suffering, and other damages.
How often do ER doctors misdiagnose?
According to a 2022 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, millions of patients are misdiagnosed in emergency departments across the U.S. annually.
It estimates that out of approximately 130 million ER visits:
- Misdiagnosis occurs in 7.4 million cases (5.7%).
- Adverse events due to these misdiagnoses affect 2.6 million patients (2.0%).
- Serious harm from diagnostic errors impact about 370,000 patients (0.3%).
For an average ER handling 25,000 visits each year, this translates to:
- Over 1,400 diagnostic errors
- 500 adverse events related to diagnostics
- 75 cases of serious harm, including around 50 deaths
These misdiagnosis statistics reveal a critical issue in emergency care quality and patient safety. The high rate of diagnostic errors highlights a systemic problem that can lead to patient suffering and even wrongful death.
This underscores the urgent need for improvements in diagnostic procedures and training, as well as the implementation of more effective safety protocols in emergency departments. Addressing these issues is crucial for enhancing patient outcomes and reducing the healthcare burden associated with preventable medical errors.
What are the top five conditions misdiagnosed in the ER?
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s report, the top 5 misdiagnosed conditions in ERs include:
- Stroke
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Aortic aneurysm/dissection
- Spinal cord compression/injury
- Venous thromboembolism (blood clot)
In total, these 5 conditions account for almost 40% of all serious misdiagnosis-related harm to patients.
It found that in about 90% of severe misdiagnosis cases that lead to malpractice claims, the errors were linked to poor clinical assessment, reasoning, or decision-making, often due to symptoms that were vague, mild, short-lived, or unusual, which made it harder for healthcare providers to correctly figure out what was wrong with the patient.
Why are emergency departments so prone to medical mistakes?
Despite their name, emergency rooms don’t treat every patient at the speed expected for an emergency. In fact, the average wait time in an ER in the U.S. is about 2.5 hours, and the median wait time in a Florida ER specifically is about 2 hours and 44 minutes.
Additionally, about 50% of all ER departments in the U.S. are reportedly overcrowded with patients, so much so that nearly 2 million patients a year leave the ER without ever seeing a doctor.
Patients with critical conditions or medical emergencies cannot afford to wait for hours or, worse, leave before they’re even treated, and serious harm can come about from such unreasonable delays.
In addition to lengthy weight times, another reason for frequent medical mistakes in emergency rooms is that ER doctors and nurses must deal with a wide variety of medical issues and work excessively long hours in an environment that may shift from hectic periods of high-pressure and intense stress to long stretches of boredom.
This is an environment that is ripe for serious medical errors, as fatigued and overworked doctors and nurses are more likely to make critical mistakes.
Some of the most common forms of emergency room malpractice include:
- Failing to diagnose or misdiagnosing a serious or life-threatening condition, like a brain bleed
- Failing to immediately treat a heart attack, stroke, or other life-threatening condition
- Prescribing the wrong medicine or dose or making other medication errors
- Misreading a patient’s chart
- Misinterpreting lab work or test results
- Failing to conduct the necessary tests or perform a differential diagnosis
- Failing to consult with specialists as warranted
- Exhibiting general negligence or incompetence
So, can you sue an emergency room for negligence?
Yes, when medical professionals make mistakes like these or otherwise fail to meet the expected standard of care, they can be held legally accountable for any resulting harm to patients. This standard of care is defined by what a reasonably competent medical professional in a similar situation would have done.
When doctors, nurses, or other healthcare providers in the emergency department make decisions or errors that fall below this standard—whether due to fatigue, overcrowding, or inadequate resources—they can and should be held responsible.
Legal accountability not only seeks justice for affected patients but also serves as a crucial mechanism for enforcing safety standards and preventing future errors.
How to file a complaint against a hospital or emergency room
Learn who to contact and what steps to take to make your voice heard in Florida after an ER mistake.
Are you or a loved one suffering due to an ER mistake in Tampa? Palmer Lopez can help!
Since patients who show up to the ER often have grave or serious medical issues, it can be difficult to know whether a nurse’s mistake or a physician’s negligence is responsible for their worsening condition or the death of a loved one.
At Palmer Lopez, our experienced Tampa medical malpractice attorneys know how to interview emergency room staff, review medical records, and consult with medical experts to determine whether a medical error was made.
Our promise to you: We’ll be upfront about whether we think you have a strong claim against the hospital, and if we take your case, we’ll charge absolutely no fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Take your first step toward justice and compensation today with the legal help of Palmer Lopez by scheduling a free consultation.
References
Diagnostic Errors in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review. (n.d.). Effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov. https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/diagnostic-errors-emergency-updated/research#field_report_title_1
Fitzpatrick, A. (2023, September 15). ER visits are getting longer amid hospital staffing shortages. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2023/09/15/hospital-er-visit-time-length
Section 1. The Need to Address Emergency Department Crowding | Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality. (2013). Ahrq.gov. https://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/final-reports/ptflow/section1.html
Stewart, T. (2023, November 9). Emergency Room Wait Times by State. AutoInsurance.org. https://www.autoinsurance.org/longest-emergency-room-waits/
