Understanding Emergency Room Mistakes

Emergency departments must make important decisions quickly while patients may be seriously ill or injured. This page can help patients and families understand how emergency room mistakes may occur, when the care may warrant legal review, and what options may be available.

What are emergency room mistakes?

Emergency room mistakes are preventable problems that may occur while a patient is being screened, evaluated, diagnosed, treated, monitored, transferred, or discharged. They can involve physicians, nurses, technicians, consultants, pharmacists, or hospital systems responsible for testing, communication, and follow-up.

Emergency care often begins with triage, a process used to identify which patients require the most urgent attention. The care team may then take a medical history, examine the patient, order laboratory or imaging tests, provide treatment, monitor the patient, and determine whether the patient should be admitted, transferred, observed, or safely discharged.

An unexpected outcome does not automatically mean that an emergency room mistake occurred. Some illnesses develop rapidly, symptoms may overlap, and early testing may not provide a complete answer. A careful review considers what information was available at the time and whether the care met the accepted standard under the circumstances.

Signs emergency room care may warrant closer review

No single event proves that negligence occurred. The following circumstances may give a patient or family reason to ask questions about the emergency care provided:

• The patient returns with the same or worsening symptoms
• Concerning symptoms, vital signs, or test results were not reassessed or addressed
• A medication or treatment error occurred
• A serious condition was identified after the emergency room visit
• Discharge instructions, follow-up guidance, or important care information were unclear or incomplete

These circumstances do not establish malpractice on their own. Medical records and expert review are often needed to determine what happened, whether the response was reasonable, and whether a different course of care would likely have prevented or reduced the harm.

What can cause emergency room mistakes?

Emergency room mistakes may arise from an individual clinical decision, a communication failure, or a broader breakdown in hospital systems. Possible contributing factors include:

• Incomplete evaluation or failure to recognize a serious condition
• Delayed, missing, or misinterpreted testing
• Medication selection, dosing, or administration errors
• Poor communication between providers or during handoffs
• Crowding, staffing limitations, or workflow problems that delay care

More than one factor may contribute to the same event, particularly when several providers or departments are involved in a patient’s emergency care.

When emergency room mistakes may be medical malpractice

Not every emergency room mistake or poor outcome is medical malpractice. However, the following circumstances may point to negligence when substandard care causes additional harm

• Failing to properly screen, prioritize, or reassess the patient
• Delaying diagnosis, testing, monitoring, or treatment for a serious condition
• Administering the wrong medication or dose
• Discharging the patient before the condition was evaluated or stabilized
• Delaying consultation, admission, surgery, or transfer
• Failing to provide clear follow-up instructions or communicate important information

A viable claim requires evidence that substandard emergency care caused or worsened the patient’s injury. Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman, LLC works with medical experts to determine whether a preventable error contributed to the harm.

Treatment and long-term outlook after an emergency room mistake

The care needed after an emergency room mistake depends on the underlying illness or injury, the type and length of any delay, and the complications that developed. Treatment may include urgent diagnostic testing, medication, surgery, infection treatment, blood transfusion, cardiac or neurologic care, transfer to a higher level of care, rehabilitation, or ongoing specialist follow-up.

Some patients recover after the correct condition is identified and treated. Others may face a longer recovery, additional procedures, permanent limitations, or the need for continuing medical and supportive care. The outcome depends on the individual condition and how the error affected the patient’s health.

A patient whose symptoms worsen after discharge should seek prompt medical attention and call 911 for a possible emergency. Patients and families may also wish to keep copies of emergency room records, test results, imaging reports, medication lists, discharge instructions, and follow-up records if they later request a medical or legal review.