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Information processing issues may point to medical malpractice

Most people hope to avoiding having to go to the emergency room for any reason. Unfortunately, medical emergencies can happen to anyone at any time, and receiving immediate medical attention may be the best course of action. While the best case scenario would involve a patient obtaining the correct diagnosis and treatment, medical malpractice could lead to much more dire outcomes.

Connecticut residents may be interested in a recent study that took a look at the connection between emergency room errors and their causes. Apparently, 45 percent of those errors took place due to cognitive processing issues with the medical staff. This means that doctors or other staff members may have the right information relating to a patient, but they may not make the best choices when it comes to diagnosing and treating the patient.

Another 31 percent of mistakes took place due to verification issues relating to the information. Errors also occurred due to not having the right knowledge for the situation and not having gathered the right information, but those causes were more infrequent than processing issues. However, it was still unclear why the cognitive issues may take place so frequently.

Connecticut families may wait in emergency rooms for hours hoping to learn good news about their loved ones. Sadly, mistakes made in the ER could easily lead to devastating outcomes, and families may find themselves in need of information on their legal options. If mistakes made by medical staff members led to serious problems or death, the affected families may have reason to file medical malpractice claims against the parties considered responsible.