Damages for Emergency Room Malpractice

When patients go to the emergency room, they trust that the physicians, nurses, and staff will appropriately triage in response to their symptoms, diagnose their injuries or illness, and treat them. Unfortunately, in practice, health care providers working in the busy and hectic environment of an emergency room do make mistakes and these can mistakes can result in catastrophic injuries or even death. If you were injured or a loved one died due to emergency room malpractice, you should consult the experienced Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys about the damages you may be able to recover by bringing a lawsuit.

Emergency room errors happen for a range of reasons. These include improper triage, lack of training, understaffing, overwork, failure to diagnose illnesses or injuries, failure to follow procedures, performing improper procedures, failing to obtain an ER patient’s medical history, failure to provide prompt medical care, failure to refer a patient to a specialist, medication errors, and failure to perform emergency surgery.

The nature of your injuries will determine the nature and quantity of damages to which you’re entitled if our Syracuse lawyers can establish liability. Certain mistakes result in minor injuries, while others inflict catastrophic harm on a patient and his or her family. For example, a failure to act when there are symptoms of stroke could result in brain damage, permanent disability and even death. A failure to diagnose an internal brain bleed could result in difficulty breathing, brain damage, or death.

In most cases, the damages recovered in a successful emergency malpractice case are compensatory, meaning they are damages intended to make up for harm suffered and must be proven in a sufficiently certain manner. Both economic and noneconomic losses may be recovered.

Economic damages may include lost wages, the costs of medical treatment arising out of the error, caregiving, medical equipment, medications, out-of-pocket costs, and replacement services. If, for example, you were given medications that were not meant to be taken together and as a result of the adverse effects, you had to stay in the hospital for two extra weeks, during which time you couldn’t work, you could recover medical losses like the cost of the hospital stay, the medications and treatment you needed, and the income you lost as a result of the malpractice.

Noneconomic damages include any intangible harms arising out of malpractice including pain and suffering damages, loss of enjoyment, scarring, disfigurement, and mental anguish. As the spouse of someone harmed by emergency room malpractice, you may be able to recover loss of consortium, which is a type of damages intended to compensate for a loss of affection and intimacy. For example, if your spouse suffered a severe heart attack due to a triage error and was left unable to have sex with you as a result, you may be entitled to recover loss of consortium.

In wrongful death cases that are brought successfully, a decedent’s survivors or estate may be able to obtain compensation that includes funeral and burial expenses, reasonable medical expenses related to the final injury or illness, lost inheritance, value of support and services, value of parental nurturing, financial support that would have been contributed to a family by the decedent, and conscious pain and suffering by the decedent because of the injuries arising out of emergency room malpractice. Family members of the decedent will not be able to recover damages for their own pain and suffering arising out of the decedent’s death; only their pecuniary losses may be recovered.

If you are concerned about recovering damages for emergency room malpractice, you should consult a veteran Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer with a reputation for seeking and achieving best results at trial. For more than 35 years, DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys has represented patients and their families in Lowville, Rochester, Auburn, Watertown, Herkimer, Oswego, Wampsville, Canandaigua, Lyons, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Oneida, Utica, Binghamton, Buffalo, Albany, Elmira, and all of Upstate New York. For a free consultation, complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000.