When experiencing a medical crisis, the emergency room is often the quickest and safest option to receive adequate care. There is the expectation that once a patient reaches the emergency room, their medical emergency will be taken care of without encountering problems however, this is not always the case.
Sometimes, emergency room medical staff fail to provide the necessary care that a patient requires. This can result in malpractice. When experiencing medical malpractice you may wonder what you can do.
The Specifics of Emergency Room Malpractice
Emergency room malpractice differs from other forms of medical malpractice. In typical situations, doctors and nurses have more time to ascertain what specific health issues are occurring and find the best solution. Emergency situations require medical staff to quickly make decisions about the care for patients.
Due to the hectic and stressful nature of emergency rooms, time constraints are a major contributing factor to the definition of emergency room malpractice. To determine if malpractice has occurred, you have to consider if another healthcare provider could have made a proper diagnosis under the same time constraints.
Who Is Liable?
This is an important question to answer. When emergency room malpractice occurs, there are liable parties involved. Typically, when there is malpractice in the emergency room, staff who work in this area are usually the ones responsible. This can include nurses, doctors, or other medical professionals.
What about first responders? Under the law, liability has specific guidelines and although first responders can participate in harmful and negligent actions, it is considered separate from what happens in the emergency room setting.
What To Keep in Mind
One major factor to keep in mind in the emergency room setting is informed consent. In a typical medical situation, a doctor would obtain consent from their patient to conduct a medical and/or life-saving procedure. If the doctor does not educate the patient on the potential issues or does not have consent, this can constitute as medical malpractice.
However, as previously mentioned, in emergency room settings offer unique issues including time constraints. For example, an incapacitated patient may require immediate emergency surgery to save their life. An emergency room doctor may not have the time to get the appropriate consent and is often left to use their professional judgment to make a quick life-saving decision for the patient.
Because of this, it is important to have an experienced lawyer to help determine if medical malpractice has occurred.
Florida Medical Malpractice Attorneys
The attorneys at Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen are extremely knowledgeable in medical malpractice claims. If you have experienced negligent care in an emergency room setting, our team can help determine what issues occurred and provide the necessary guidance to receive adequate compensation.
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