Critical Care or ICU Errors
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 139 million emergency room visits in the United States in 2017. Critical and Intensive Care Units are full of pressure and doctors and nurses often have to make quick and accurate decisions in potentially life-threatening situations. Competent doctors and nurses are often able to save lives, but sometimes negligence and failures occur in critical care and ICUs and people die. This is known as medical malpractice due to critical care and ICU errors. At Sasscer, Clagett & Bucher, our medical malpractice team will listen to the details of your case and provide you with counsel.
When an ICU doctor or nurse makes a mistake, it can lead to serious injury or wrongful death.
How Do Mistakes Happen in the ICU?
The ICU is full of pressure and doctors and nurses often have to make quick and accurate decisions in potentially life-threatening situations. Competent doctors and nurses are often able to save lives, but sometimes negligence and failures occur in emergency rooms and people die. Some of the reasons mistakes happen in the ICU are:
- Insufficient physical examination
- Failure to acquire accurate medical history
- Missing high-priority health concerns during triage
- Failing to recognize symptoms of a stroke or heart attack
- Diagnostic and laboratory testing errors
- Unsanitary conditions
- Incorrectly administered anesthesia
- Testing and treatment delays
- Poor patient monitoring
- Premature patient discharge
- Tainted blood transfusions
- Misreading X-rays, MRIs, and other lab results
- Prescription errors
- Surgical errors
If you or a loved one are the victim of an ICU mistake, contact the medical malpractice team at Sasscer, Clagett & Bucher immediately. We invite you to call 301-627-5500 or email our office to arrange a consultation with one of our medical malpractice lawyers. We serve clients throughout Maryland from offices in Upper Marlboro and La Plata.
How to Prove ICU Errors?
Proving an ICU error is a straightforward process, but the details can be problematic. A qualified medical malpractice attorney can help you:
- Demonstrate that there is an established relationship between medical providers and the patient
- Illustrate the medical professionals’ standard of care
- Prove that either negligence occurred or the standard of care was not followed
- Show that the negligence led to pain, suffering, additional medical bills, disruption of normal life, or wrongful death
Free Consultation and ICU Error Evaluation
If you have a question about an ICU error, we invite you to call 301-627-5500 or email our office to arrange a consultation with one of our medical malpractice lawyers. We serve clients throughout Maryland from offices in Upper Marlboro and La Plata.