Emergency Room Errors and Negligence
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- Content last updated on:
- August 24, 2023

Table of Contents
Emergency room (ER) mistakes are distressingly common. You might not realize just how easily an ER error can occur until it happens to you. At Freedland Harwin Valori, PL we’ve helped many clients seek justice after ER mistakes. Sometimes patients are discharged from the ER even though they present with signs and symptoms of a serious problem. Poor communication, sending patients away, and failures to diagnose can all result in unnecessary patient harm or death. If you find yourself in need of legal representation for a Florida medical malpractice claim, contact us.
Types of Emergency Room Mistakes
It is the plaintiff’s burden to prove the defendant’s negligence to recover financial compensation for damages. In the eyes of the courts, any action or failure to act that falls within the realm of the defendant’s responsibilities to the plaintiff, resulting in the plaintiff’s harm, is negligence. The first step in proving liability is recognizing the mistake the defendant made that caused or contributed to your injuries. Some of the most common errors that result in medical malpractice lawsuits are as follows:
- Refusing patient care. All patients, regardless of income, insurance, gender, race, religion, or disability, qualify for emergency medical care. Sending a patient home because of his/her inability to pay or due to biases against a protected class can be medical malpractice. It also can be malpractice to turn away a patient when he or she presents with a life-threatening condition.
- Failure to diagnose (FTD) a heart attack or myocardial infarction. Failure to diagnose heart attack is a common ER mistake due to improper testing methods and negligent doctors. A doctor could misdiagnose heart attack symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, weakness, nausea, or pain in the back or shoulders for other, less serious conditions. Failure to diagnose a heart attack, resulting in lack of proper treatment, can be fatal for the patient.
- Failure to diagnose a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE). Diagnosing potentially life-threatening blood issues in the ER requires blood tests, MRIs, CT scans, and a thorough review of the patient’s medical history. Sending a patient with DVT or PE home without proper diagnosis or treatment can result in blood clots traveling to the heart or lungs and killing the patient.
- Failure to diagnose a stroke or impending stroke. Patients experiencing stroke symptoms such as arm weakness, tingling, numbness, speech difficulty, or facial drooping may visit an ER for evaluation. If negligent staff members fail to properly diagnose a stroke or a high risk of stroke, this can result in lack of necessary emergency treatment. Failing to treat or prevent a stroke due to misdiagnosis is an example of malpractice.
Patient mix-ups, improper medical care, adverse medication reactions, prescription errors, misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, emergency surgery mistakes, and failing to order the appropriate medical tests are all types of ER mistakes. If a “reasonable and prudent” physician, nurse, or facility would have done something differently to prevent the plaintiff’s damages, juries may find that the defendant was negligent, and therefore liable for the patient’s harm. Help from an attorney can go a long way in proving an ER error claim in Florida. Call our firm to learn more during a free confidential consultation.

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ALL FIELDS REQUIRED
- BIRTH TRAUMA
- EMERGENCY ROOM MISTAKES
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE OR MISDIAGNOSIS – CANCER
- FAILURE OR DELAY IN DIAGNOSIS OF SEPSIS
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT GESTATIONAL DIABETES
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE BREAST CANCER
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE HEART ATTACK
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE OR TREAT AORTIC DISSECTION
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE PNEUMONIA
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE PULMONARY EMBOLISM
- FAILURE TO TREAT STROKE
- HOSPITAL MALPRACTICE
- INTRAVENOUS INFILTRATION
- MEDICATION ERRORS
- MEDICATION OVERDOSE
- MISDIAGNOSIS
- NEGLIGENT FETAL MONITORING
- OB/GYN ERRORS
- PACU ERRORS
- PLASTIC SURGERY ERRORS
- PREOPERATIVE CLEARANCE ERROR
- RADIOLOGY ERRORS
- SPINE SURGERY MISTAKES
- SURGERY CENTER ERRORS
- SURGICAL ERRORS
CASE RESULTS
$24.5 Million
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
JURY VERDICT
Damages Jury Verdict on behalf of the family of a 34-year-old woman who bled to death during childbirth. With the assistance of top experts, we were able to demonstrate that doctors did not follow proper safety protocols, forcing the defendants to admit liability shortly before trial.
$12.2 Million
PHARMACEUTICAL LIABILITY
SETTLEMENT
A settlement won on behalf of the family of a 47 year old woman whose death resulted from the use of a dangerous pharmaceutical drug. We proved the manufacturer knew of the dangerous side effects & did not provide proper warning.
$10 Million
BIRTH INJURY
SETTLEMENT
A settlement on behalf of a child who suffered a brain injury as a result of oxygen deprivation during birth. Through years of tactical and technical litigation, we were able to prove that the nurses and physicians both failed to intervene and prevent the brain injury.
$1.2 Million
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT
SETTLEMENT
A settlement on behalf of a middle-aged man who was read ended by a waste management truck.
$1.5 Million
NURSING HOME NEGLIGENCE
SETTLEMENT
A settlement on behalf of the family of an elderly man who died as a result of being neglected and uncared for by a nursing home.
TESTIMONIALS
I met Dan when I was in therapy and he came and right away it felt like a family member visiting you, a connection, like a brother. He’s been on both sides of the fence. He’s represented the hospitals and the doctors, and then he jumped over to the other side. It is a fantastic group, it was like Bell Belichick leading the team. They changed my life and still check on me. I recommend FHV to anybody and they thank me.
LARRY
I met Dan about a year ago. He never made me feel that it was about the money. When he spoke with me he was asking how Bill (my brother) was and if he was doing better. He made me feel like family and always asked if I was alright. That means a lot. Everyday is something new and I challenge for my brother. I would recommend [FHV] to everybody because I really believe that they’re helping from their hearts… from a really good place.
BILL
For anyone to represent anyone for 5 years and take the time to do it, not once just “get it out of the way” and “get it done with”. It was about what was best for Hunter and our family. It was about the case and the people.
ASHLEY
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