Hospital Triage Errors Causing Wrongful Death: Albany Medical Malpractice Lawyer Explains

Albany Medical Malpractice Lawyer Explains Hospital Triage Errors Causing Wrongful Death 

Triage is essentially described as the air traffic controller of the hospital emergency department.  It is the instructions which patient needs to be treated first.  There is a triage nurse in each emergency department which will assess and triage the patient.  Sometimes there is also a triage doctor who will help the task.  The triage nurse or doctor has a very important job of weeding through the many emergency department visitors to determine who need immediate medical care, or in what order patients should be treated.  This is where mistakes that are made could result in the wrongful death of a patient.  In any emergency room or emergency department mistake resulting in the wrongful death of a patient, call our Albany medical malpractice lawyer to learn how we can help.

Common Triage Mistakes by a Hospital Which Could Result in a Wrongful Death

There are many ways that a triage nurse could make a medical error which results in a wrongful death.  There are some very common ways that improperly triaging a patient could be New York medical malpractice.  Our Albany medical malpractice lawyer provides these as common examples:

• Failing to identify a crushing injury – crushing injuries are tricky because, even though they may appear minor such as a crushed toe, these are high-priority triage injuries because the inside of that limb is going to be constantly bleeding and hemorrhaging inside.  Not only is that dangerous for obvious reasons, but compartment syndrome could quickly develop and cut of blood circulation, destroy nerves, and permanently injure the limb.
• Compartment syndrome – as noted above, compartment syndrome is a medical emergency and must be triaged high or it could result in the amputation or wrongful death of a patient.
• High-falls – falls can result in similar injuries like crushing injuries, and need to be assessed immediately to evaluate whether there are internal injuries which could become life-threatening.
• Injuries from gunshots or knife attacks, particularly to the neck or thoracic region.
• Explosions or fire injuries, including intense burns which are open and exposing a large percentage of the body.
• Heart attacks;
• Strokes;
• Aneurisms; 
• Amputated limbs; and
• Other types of injuries.

Shouldn’t triage nurses who makes mistakes with triaging emergency department patients be liable for their errors?  Absolutely!

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.