Emergency medicine is a unique area of practice because of the wide range of conditions that are dealt with in the ER. The job of the emergency room physician involves more than just the evaluation and treatment of trauma and sudden illness.
Many chronic or long-standing conditions can become emergent and require rapid and appropriate attention. Emergency rooms are often some of the busiest, poorly staffed, and overworked areas of hospitals. It has been estimated that half of the people who die each year from medical malpractice are killed as a result of emergency room errors.
Common emergency room issues include the improper diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and infections. Improper responses to these conditions or other traumas/injuries are also sources of emergency room errors that our Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice attorneys are prepared to address in court.
Strokes most commonly come in two varieties:
- Thrombotic (a clot)
- Hemorrhagic (bleeding)
Both Thrombotic strokes and Hemorrhagic strokes are usually diagnosable with a prompt CT scan and are usually treatable once diagnosed. However, both varieties require a very rapid response, and in some cases, the treatment is not beneficial after a set time period. Too often, stroke patients are either forced to wait long periods of time before seeing a medical professional or they are misdiagnosed and discharged without treatment.
