The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there were 136.3 million visits to the ER in 2011, with 40.2 million being injury-related. Some of those visits resulted in 16.2 million people being admitted into the hospital while 2.1 million people were admitted into a critical care unit. All in all, visits to the ER for that year resulted in an 11 percent spike in hospital admissions. In 2014, the year the Obamacare took effect, ER visits rose, contrary to expectations, says USA Today.
And with that many ER visits, you could expect ER errors to rise as well. With medical negligence cases still at a high every year, it pays to know about common ER mistakes so you know what to watch out for:
- EMT and paramedic neglect
When EMTs or paramedics fail to provide treatment a patient in need of urgent care - Patient dumping
This covers instances when ER doctors refuse to admit or treat patients because patients are unable to provide proof of their insurance or show any evidence of their financial capability to pay for treatment costs - Anesthesia malpractice
Administering the anesthesia in the wrong dosage or in any way that endangers the life of a patient - Surgical errors
These include leaving surgical equipment inside accidentally as well as nicking an artery or vein affecting the patient’s condition, among other things - Diagnosis errors
These refers to delayed diagnosis and as a result, delayed treatment, the failure to diagnose correctly and misdiagnosis Tests help - Medication errors
Aside from the wrong dosage, this also includes giving out the wrong medication. This can be fatal, especially for patients who suffer from allergies and end up succumbing to complications as a result - Contaminated blood transfusion
Failure to check the patient’s blood type properly or to ensure that the donor blood is a match
