When you visit an emergency room in Lexington, South Carolina, you expect prompt and effective medical care. Unfortunately, emergency room errors can and do happen. These errors can lead to severe injuries, worsen an existing condition, or worse.
Emergency room errors are a type of medical malpractice. This occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care. Our Lexington personal injury attorneys have helped countless victims of medical malpractice recover the money they need to rebuild their lives.
If you or a loved one has been harmed due to an emergency room mistake, you may have legal options. At Jeffcoat Injury and Car Accident Lawyers, we understand how overwhelming this situation can be. Contact our law office today for a free consultation at (803) 721-4241 with a Lexington emergency room error lawyer to discuss how we can help you.
How Jeffcoat Injury and Car Accident Lawyers Can Help If You Have Been Hurt By An Emergency Room Error In Lexington, SC
Medical malpractice is one of the most complex areas of personal injury law. Proving a medical malpractice case requires extensive evidence, including testimony from medical experts. Not all personal injury attorneys have the experience necessary.
Here’s what our law firm can do to help you:
- Conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine how you were injured
- Analyze evidence, including medical records, to identify parties who may be liable
- Work closely with medical experts to establish the standard of care in your case
- Handle all communications and monitor crucial deadlines
- Negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement agreement
- Take your case to trial if an agreement isn’t reached to present your case to a jury
- Provide legal advice and guidance to help you make informed decisions about your case
Contact our law office today for a free consultation with a Lexington personal injury attorney. We are ready to listen to your story and discuss how we can help you seek justice.
How Common Is Emergency Room Malpractice?
Studies estimate that preventable medical errors cause anywhere from 3.6% of hospital deaths to 4.2% of deaths. Many of these preventable deaths are due to errors in the emergency room.
Emergency medicine involves limited time to treat patients with acute illnesses and injuries. This medical specialty has a high risk of malpractice: more than 75% of emergency room physicians face a malpractice claim at some point. One study found 98 malpractice claims resulted from 9.4 million ER visits. Another analysis found that about four out of every 100,000 ER visits resulted in a malpractice claim.
What Are Common Types Of Emergency Room Errors In Lexington?
An emergency room requires physicians to act quickly and make decisions that may be life or death. ER staff are highly trained to handle this stressful environment and make sound decisions.
Emergency room negligence occurs when a patient suffers harm caused by a medical provider’s negligence or care that falls below the standard of care.
Emergency room errors can happen in many ways. Common ER errors include:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis leading to complications or injury
- Medication errors
- Failure to order appropriate tests leading to incorrect or incomplete treatment
- Incorrect interpretation of test results
- Discharging a patient too soon, without proper instructions, or based on misdiagnosis
A large study analyzed emergency room malpractice claims. It found most have one of three causes: misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, and inadequate assessment. Cancer, infection, and vascular events alone accounted for 72% of emergency room diagnostic errors that caused serious harm.
What Causes Emergency Room Errors?
There may be multiple factors in a serious medical error in an emergency room. Common factors that contribute to emergency room malpractice include:
- The fast-paced and high-pressure environment of an emergency room
- Frequent interruptions
- Understaffing and overloaded personnel
- Fatigue which can affect judgment and performance
- Incomplete patient information
- High patient volume means providers may rush through assessments during busy periods
- Cognitive biases, or flaws and distortions in decision-making and critical thinking
- Miscommunication between doctors, nurses, or other healthcare providers
- Inadequate experience or training
Cognitive biases alone are believed to cause 28% of diagnostic errors, one of the most common types of errors in the ER. Physician fatigue, incomplete patient history, and complex patient presentation, all common in the ER, increase the likelihood of cognitive bias.
Who May Be Liable For Injuries Caused By A Medical Error In The Emergency Room?
Liability in emergency room error cases can be complex. Depending on the circumstances, several parties may be held responsible, including:
- Doctors: Physicians who misdiagnose, fail to order necessary tests or provide incorrect treatment may be liable for medical malpractice.
- Nurses: Nursing staff who fail to monitor patients, administer incorrect medication, or neglect to communicate critical information can be held responsible.
- Hospitals: Hospitals may be liable for errors caused by understaffing, inadequate training, faulty equipment, and the negligence of a medical provider.
- Laboratories: If a laboratory error, such as incorrect test results, leads to a misdiagnosis or improper treatment, the lab may also be held liable.
ER medical providers are held to the same standards of care as medical providers in other settings. When care falls below an acceptable standard and causes harm, providers can be held liable. Doctors, nurses, and other emergency room staff may be individually liable for their own negligence. Hospitals can also be held liable for the negligence of their employees and private, non-employee contractors.
What Damages Are Available To Victims Of ER Errors In South Carolina?
In a successful injury claim, victims of emergency room errors in South Carolina may recover compensatory damages, including economic and non-economic damages.
Like many states, South Carolina caps damages on medical malpractice claims. There is no limit to the economic damages you can recover for losses with an intrinsic financial value. However, non-economic losses like pain and suffering are capped.
Every year, the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office sets a new limit tied to the Consumer Price Index. Below are the caps on non-economic medical malpractice damages for claims filed in 2024.
- $564,168 against a single healthcare institution or provider per claimant
- $1,692,503 total against all providers or institutions per claimant
These limits can only be exceeded in rare cases. The cap can be waived if the defendant’s behavior was grossly negligent, reckless, wanton, or willful. It may also be exceeded if the defendant engaged in fraud, misrepresentation, or destruction of medical records.
How Long Do I Have To File A Lawsuit For Medical Malpractice In South Carolina?
The South Carolina statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims limits how long you have to file a lawsuit. The deadline is generally three years from the date of the injury or the date the injury was discovered (or should have been discovered). The deadline is tolled or extended up to six years from the date the error occurred.
However, there are specific rules and exceptions that may apply to your case, so discuss your particular situation with your attorney.
Schedule A Free Consultation With Our Lexington, SC Emergency Room Error Lawyers
Do you believe you were hurt by a medical provider’s error in a Lexington emergency room? You may be entitled to compensation, and Jeffcoat Injury and Car Accident Lawyers is here to help you. We have fought tirelessly for injured patients like you for more than a century. We are ready to put our experience to work on your case.
Contact us to schedule a free case review with an emergency room error lawyer in Lexington, SC. We will help you understand your legal options and how we can help you at (803) 721-4241.
