A&E Negligence

What Is A&E Negligence?

The role of an accident and emergency department (A&E) is to assess your situation and either treat or refer you for treatment as soon as possible. A&E departments are often extremely hectic with doctors, nurses and medical staff under tremendous pressure to deliver quality medical care and attention. Due to the nature of this often hectic environment failings can happen, some of the most common are;

• Missing obvious symptoms of high risk conditions such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure
• Failure to examine patients properly and therefore not concluding with the correct diagnosis, possibly an inexperienced member of staff failing to seek the support of a senior doctor and therefore mistaking the symptoms for a far less severe illness or failing to take into account a patient’s medical history
• Misreading x-rays, the consequences of which may include receiving unnecessary treatment
• Misinterpreting test results potentially making the condition much worse and in extreme cases the death of a patient who would otherwise have recovered
• Misdiagnosing bone fractures leading to a longer and more difficult recovery
• Delayed treatment causing additional pain and suffering and in some cases irreversible complications
• Discharging patients in error and having to return in a worse condition than was previous
• Prescribing and dispensing of the wrong medication

We should all feel safe at hospital and whilst it may be understandable for mistakes to happen in A&E departments there really is no excuse for your health to be put at risk. A common reported level of negligence is that of injury caused by falling from a wheelchair whereby the patient hasn’t been given the necessary assistance getting in and out of the chair, or falls from trolley beds where the sides have not been secured properly. Fractured hips and legs are sadly the result of many of these falls, particularly in the elderly.

If the medical negligence you or a loved one received has resulted in the condition worsening or becoming injured you may be able to make a claim for compensation. Our expert, friendly team will help every step of the way, call us free today.

Call us now on 0800 122 3130 or click here to start your claim.