Medical Liability Consultants, Inc. Glossary Medical Malpractice

Emergency Room Misdiagnosis Medical errors that may lead to an emergency room misdiagnosis include: Lack of communication between patient and doctor Failure to order or perform correct tests Misreading medical test results Negligent medical staff Failure to perform a thorough medical background check More According to a 1999 Institute of Medicine report, 44,000 to 98,000 people die every year as a result of medical mistakes . A more recent study found that 1.5 million Americans are seriously harmed as a result of medication errors annually. In many cases, these drug errors are caused by a combination of doctor/nurse/hospital negligence in addition to equipment failure. Types of equipment failure Numerous types of equipment failure, ranging from heart defibrillator problems to malfunctioned IV pumps, could lead to serious injury or death. For example, a common type of equipment failure occurs when an intravenous (IV) pump has a defective valve, which causes too much medication to be administered to a patient over a short amount of time. Anaesthetic machines, blood pressure equipment, cancer diagnostic equipment, x-ray equipment , among others, may fail or be used improperly by medical care professionals heightening the risk of patient harm.

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