Nebraska Emergency Room Errors Lawyer
Emergency rooms are a critical part of the health system, often helping individuals who are suffering from unexpected and potentially life-threatening conditions and injuries. As such, they are typically buzzing with doctors, nurses, and medical professionals rushing to save lives and manage these life-threatening injuries.
When you go to the emergency room, it is often because you are suffering from a serious and potentially life-threatening condition, so you expect to receive the best care and treatment possible. However, all too often people go to the emergency room and suffer injury or a worsening of their condition due to a medical error.
If you or a loved one have suffered because of an emergency room error, contact a Nebraska emergency room errors lawyer today. A qualified attorney from Inkelaar Law could discuss your case with you and help you determine the best course of action given your circumstances.
The Basics of Emergency Room Errors Cases
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over 136 million emergency room visits occur each year. While emergency rooms save hundreds of thousands of lives through these visits, this hectic environment can sometimes cause doctors and medical professionals to make critical errors in diagnosing or treating medical issues.
Nebraska law recognizes that medical professionals can be held liable for medical malpractice if they fail to employ a reasonable degree of care, skill, and knowledge. Specifically, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-2810 defines the standard of care for emergency room doctors as behavior that another reasonable ER doctor would have possessed and utilized under the same or similar conditions.
Common Emergency Room Errors
Some of the most common emergency room errors include:
- Misdiagnosing a patient’s condition
- Prescribing the incorrect medication
- Prescribing the wrong dosage of a medication
- Ignoring patient distress
- Contraindicated medications
- Failing to order diagnostic tests
Often, these common errors are caused by a breakdown in communication between doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. However, many emergency room errors can also be attributed to poor training, lack of experience, and outright negligence, all of which could form the basis for a lawsuit that a Nebraska emergency room errors lawyer could help you file.
Identifying Liable Parties for an Emergency Room Error
Emergency rooms are filled with doctors, physicians’ assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, technicians, and support staff. Medical malpractice in an emergency room can stem from any one—or more—of these parties during an initial evaluation, during treatment, or even during discharge.
It is critical for emergency room errors lawyers in Nebraska to determine not only when an emergency room occurred, but also who is responsible for the error. It is also important to determine what relation that person has to the emergency room and hospital, because this may affect who is liable.
Nurses, technicians, and other staff generally are employed by the hospital itself, but many doctors working in the emergency room setting are not employees of the hospital but are independent contractors. While it is a general rule that employers are partially liable for negligent acts of their employees, this rule is less clear when an independent contractor commits a negligent act.
Turn to a Nebraska Emergency Room Error Attorney Today
An emergency room error can mean that an injury is left untreated or inadequately treated, a life-threatening condition is not resolved, or that a condition is misdiagnosed. This can impact you both physically and financially, depending on how much additional treatment you may need to recover from a new injury caused by a negligent ER doctor.
A Nebraska emergency room errors lawyer could provide you and your family with critical support and guidance on how to prove and resolve an emergency room error lawsuit. Contact Inkelaar Law today to discuss your case and learn your options.