Phoenix Emergency Medicine Attorneys | Malpractice Lawyers

Emergency Medicine


Arizona Lawyers for the Victims of Emergency Medicine Malpractice

Hospital emergency departments can be chaotic and there are many opportunities for medical malpractice to occur.  Some people are there with life-threatening emergencies which require immediate treatment while some are there with what may be no more than a bad cold.  Emergency medicine is challenging and difficult even under the best circumstances.  Still nurses and doctors in the emergency department often make mistakes they should not.  That is medical malpractice.

Nursing Negligence

A person, usually a nurse, determines how critical a patient might be and then decides which patient gets seen first.  This is called triaging and occurs in almost every emergency department.  The triage nurse may not be as well-trained as he or she ought to be.  The nurse may erroneously conclude that your condition is not grave and that you can wait to be seen by a doctor.  We have represented patients who were told they would have to wait, but who suffered significant injuries or died a short time later as a result of a life-threatening medical condition which should have been recognized sooner.

Doctor Malpractice

Other errors can occur once a patient is seen by the doctor. Emergency department physicians should be well-trained and must be able to promptly recognize and treat a vast number of serious medical conditions.  On occasion patients are not treated properly or are discharged with an improper diagnosis that leads to horrible results.

A Different Burden of Proof

The Arizona State Legislature has decided that, unlike most other health care providers, those working in an emergency department should be liable to their patients for malpractice only if there is clear and convincing proof of their medical negligence.  This higher burden can make these already difficult cases that much more challenging and is an issue which must be carefully considered and understood.

 

Contact Our Phoenix, Arizona Medical Malpractice Law Firm for Claims Involving an Emergency Department

Contact our office at (602) 648-3200 regarding medical malpractice that you or a loved one may have experienced as a result of care provided in an emergency department. Consultations are free and confidential.