Atlanta Emergency Room Error Attorneys

Emergency Room Malpractice Representation from a Firm Founded in 1958

When a person is admitted to an emergency room, they trust that the medical staff will take all necessary steps to protect their safety and provide quality care. Unfortunately, errors in the ER can lead to serious injury or even death. If you’ve suffered harm because of a mistake made by a doctor, nurse, or another emergency room care provider, understanding your rights and seeking legal review promptly matters. A poor outcome alone doesn’t establish malpractice, but when the available facts raise questions about whether the applicable medical standard of care was met and whether a breach caused your injury, legal review is worth pursuing.

At Cunningham Bounds, we’ve represented injured individuals and families since 1958 and recovered billions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. Our Atlanta emergency room error attorneys pursue accountability for emergency department negligence. We offer transparent communication, personal attention to each client’s situation, and a free initial consultation.

If you think you may have been injured because of an emergency room error, don’t hesitate to schedule a free initial consultation by calling (404) 609-1081 or contacting us online.

Examples of Emergency Room Errors

Emergency rooms often operate under intense pressure, but the medical professionals working in them must still meet the applicable standard of care. Errors can delay necessary treatment and lead to additional injuries or health complications. When that happens, prompt legal review can help determine whether the evidence supports a malpractice claim.

Emergency room malpractice can take many forms, including:

• Misdiagnosis. Misdiagnosis is one of the most common types of emergency room errors and occurs when a medical professional misidentifies the cause or nature of a patient’s illness or injury. This is especially dangerous when a patient is already seriously ill or injured, as a delay in appropriate treatment can worsen their condition. In some cases, this type of error can be fatal if not corrected quickly enough.
• Failure to diagnose. Failure to diagnose occurs when the doctor overlooks signs or symptoms of a serious illness or injury, leading to delays in necessary treatment. This can happen when a provider fails to give adequate attention, lacks basic medical knowledge, or ignores more subjective symptoms and patient concerns.
• Medication errors. Medication errors occur when too much or too little of a medication is given to a patient, or when a provider administers an incorrect medication type that either produces harmful side effects or fails to address the patient’s condition.
• Surgical errors. Examples of surgical errors include operating on the wrong part of the body, leaving surgical instruments inside the patient, performing an unnecessary procedure, or making avoidable mistakes during a procedure. These errors can result in serious health complications.
• Anesthesia errors. Anesthesia errors include an inappropriate delay in administration, administering the wrong anesthetic, administering too much or too little anesthesia, and inadequate patient monitoring.

Other forms of emergency department negligence include:

• Inadequate triage
• Failure to order or interpret necessary diagnostic testing
• Failure to review patient history
• Communication failures between care teams
• Improper discharge
• Failure to provide appropriate follow-up instructions

Whether a listed error becomes legally significant depends on whether the evidence connects a breach of the medical standard of care to a specific injury or death.

How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit for an Emergency Room Error?

In Georgia, O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71 generally provides two years from the date of the injury or death arising from the negligent act or omission to file a medical malpractice claim. Georgia also enforces a statute of repose of five years from the date of the negligent act or omission, meaning that even if harm is discovered later, filing after that five-year period has passed is generally barred by statute.

Several exceptions exist. If your child is under the age of five when an emergency room error occurs, Georgia law gives you until the child’s 7th birthday to file a claim, and the statute of repose cannot run out before the child’s 10th birthday. If a foreign object is discovered inside your body following treatment, you generally have one year from the date of discovery to pursue a claim. A medical-records request may affect the limitation period when the statutory requirements for tolling under Georgia law are satisfied. The application of any deadline depends on the specific injury, the date of the negligent act, the claimant’s age, the type of claim, and other case-specific facts.

The bottom line: Don’t wait to get legal advice after discovering evidence of an emergency room error. Missing the applicable deadline can affect your ability to file a claim. Prompt legal review can clarify which deadlines may apply to your situation.