New Jersey emergency rooms are a perfect storm for medical malpractice. They are chronically understaffed, which requires surgeons, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to work long hours and even a double shift on occasion. On top of that, an ER can be a hectic, chaotic scene where patients arrive unpredictably with various medical emergencies that require urgent vital care.

A study by Harvard University of 30,000 hospitals chosen at random revealed that there is a far greater chance of emergency room malpractice and negligence than in any other part of the hospital. Usually, this was the result of inexperienced part-time employees who used bad judgment for their diagnoses or who proposed an incorrect treatment.

By their very nature, emergency rooms rely on fast, decisive analysis and treatment. Staff physicians have to treat their patients hastily or refer them to a more experienced specialist. Under time constraints, a percentage of those who rush to their local New Jersey ER leave with enduring side effects, including loss of function, pain, or death. If a competent doctor had attended to them, these instances of emergency room malpractice could have been prevented.

That same Harvard study also stated that people are not getting treated as quickly in emergency rooms as they had in the past. In 1997, patients waited an average of twenty-two minutes, but in 2012, the normal wait time was thirty minutes. Patients who presented with a heart attack received treatment in eight minutes in 1997. In 2012, they were forced to wait for twenty-two minutes.

Longer wait times and tired staff members are not the only problems a patient may encounter in the emergency room. Mistakes may also add to the patient’s misery. The most common errors in an emergency room include the following:

At Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, we have had great success in handling emergency room medical malpractice lawsuits in New Jersey, such as a $3.5 million settlement for failure to diagnose a condition which led to a stroke and the $2.75 million settlement we won for an ER malpractice lawsuit in which the patient’s x-rays were incorrectly read. This case was against a radiologist, the ER physicians, nurses, and the hospital for failure to properly diagnose nerve compression due to a shoulder fracture. The delay resulted in permanent nerve damage. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

If you or a loved one were harmed due to emergency room malpractice, contact Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman. We represent clients throughout New Jersey and one of our emergency room malpractice lawyers we will respond as soon as possible to discuss your case.