With fewer U.S. emergency rooms and more injured patients using them for treatment, the likelihood increases that healthcare ER workers, including doctors, nurses and medical technicians, will make costly, sometimes life-threatening delays and medical mistakes.
That has been the trend in the United States. Since at least 1996, the number of emergency rooms has been decreasing, according to a national survey, while other data show that the number of emergency rooms visits are up.
Have you been harmed by negligent ER care in a Michigan hospital? Contact the medical malpractice lawyers of Michigan Injury Lawyers at (888) 454-0801 or use our online contact form. If there is no recovery in your case, there is no fee for our services.
Crowded Michigan Emergency Rooms
During one recent 10-year period, the number of emergency room visits went up 32 percent. Nationally, the number of emergency room visits now averages 404 for every 1,000 people. In Michigan, that rate is 10 percent higher, with 443 visits for every 1,000 residents.
As a result of this trend, emergency rooms are experiencing overcrowding and patients are having to wait longer to be seen. Emergency rooms are simply not always staffed adequately to handle the flow of patients.
A National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey showed that only 18 percent of people who went to a hospital with an emergency were seen in fewer than 15 minutes.
This trend comes as America's baby boom generation is aging and older adults already make up a substantial portion of the traffic in emergency rooms.
One of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions of emergency room patients is heart attack. A study from 2004 showed that one-quarter of heart attack victims had to wait nearly an hour before receiving care. The survival rate of heart attack victims sharply declines with each minute that they must wait to receive treatment.
However, a study released in 2010 showed that the most common error reported in emergency rooms is medication error.
Contact Our Emergency Room Attorneys Today
If you feel you that your health or the health of a family member has been harmed because of inadequate emergency room care, contact the medical malpractice attorneys at Michigan Injury Lawyers Call (888) 454-0801 or use our online contact form. If there is no recovery in your case, there is no fee for our services.
Based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Injury Lawyers represents personal injury clients across Michigan, including but not limited to Macomb County, Oakland County, Warren, Clinton Township, Sterling Heights, St. Clair Shores, Mount Clemens, Utica, Roseville, Troy, Farmington Hills, Waterford, Southfield, Pontiac, Birmingham Michigan, Rochester Hills, West Bloomfield and Bloomfield Hills.