A&E Negligence Claims

A&E Negligence Claims

No matter how you arrive at a hospital’s Accident and Emergency department; whether you are brought in by ambulance, dropped off by a friend or even if you walk yourself in, you are likely to find a situation where everybody believes that they need to be seen first. It comes down to the triage team to decide which cases are most urgent. They use the information they are presented with – either by yourself or the paramedics or ambulance crew who brought you in – alongside years of medical training and knowledge to make the right decision as to the most appropriate treatment. When A&E departments are busy – as they often are these days, the staff can be put under an enormous amount of pressure to deal with people as swiftly as possible, and this pressure can sometimes lead to mistakes being made.

In some cases a patient might be brought in unconscious by someone who had found them that way and hence the doctors start out with no real idea what could be the problem. In other situations a language barrier can cause all kinds of issues, but if mistakes are made by the team who treat you, you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

There is a range of problems that might arise due to a variety of factors within accident and emergency, including:

Misdiagnosed bone fracture – broken bones can sometimes be easy to spot, but in other cases it can be unclear whether a bone is broken, or whether some other injury is to blame. There are various techniques that doctors can use to examine bones, such as X-ray, but under the time pressure of A&E these opportunities could be missed, or a range of other factors could come into play. To find out more click here.

Incorrect Treatment – it is not always possible for doctors in A&E to accurately diagnose and treat the illnesses and injuries they are presented with. If they make a decision which later turns out to have harmed the patient, then serious questions have to be asked about how the decision was made, and by whom. For more information about incorrect treatment click here.

Delayed Treatment – while in some cases a delay in treatment can be frustrating, in other cases it can be fatal. With conditions such as sepsis, a matter of minutes can make the difference between life and death. To find out more about delayed treatment click here.

Hospital Infections – nobody hopes to leave hospital in a worse state than they arrived, but with antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as MRSA, precautions must be taken to reduce the risk of it being passed on in any way. Thorough cleanliness routines can lower the risk of these illnesses, but when people are ill or injured their immune systems can be weakened, putting them at higher risk of developing an infection. For more information click here.

Negligent Patient Examination – when there is pressure to treat people as swiftly as possible there is a higher chance of failing to notice certain aspects of illnesses or injuries that might be more prevalent in a more relaxed setting. That does not excuse negligence when examining patients in order to find the cause of the illness or injury. To find out more about Negligent Patient Examinations click here.

Misinterpreted exam or test results – even if the correct procedures have been followed and suitable tests have been taken, if the results are misread, or misinterpreted, the choice of treatment might be inappropriate and further damage could be done to the patient’s health. If this has happened to you or someone you care for, click here for more information.

Negligent post-operative care – even when the correct decision has been made for treatment and the operation or procedure has gone successfully, unless after-care is administered properly, a range of issues can arise including infection and further injury. To find out more click here.