When you go to the emergency room, you expect to get better. Whether you suffer from chest pain, head trauma, stroke, or serious injury, West Virginia’s ERs are meant to provide fast and effective medical care in life-and-death situations. However, when emergency departments fall short of that mission, the results can be tragic—and often, they have legal consequences.

Our West Virginia emergency room negligence lawyers represent patients and families seeking justice when an ER visit results in serious injury or wrongful death due to medical negligence. If you or a loved one believes your emergency room stay went from life-saving to life-threatening, here’s what you need to know.

What Is Emergency Room Negligence?

Emergency room negligence refers to the failure of doctors, nurses, or hospital staff in the emergency room to adhere to the accepted standard of medical care. When negligence occurs, it results in injury or death to the patient.

Negligence can’t simply be defined as a bad outcome, an unexpected turn, or an unavoidable complication. Instead, it’s a mistake that a reasonably trained medical professional could have and should have avoided.

Common types of ER negligence include:

• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis (such as dismissing a patient with symptoms of stroke or heart attack)
• Failure to order tests or imaging
• Medication errors (administering the wrong dosage or drug)
• Failure to treat or stabilize in a timely manner
• Inadequate monitoring of a patient’s condition
• Premature discharge from the ER
• Failure to refer or admit for further treatment

Emergency room errors are especially egregious when a patient suffers harm that is easily preventable with the right medical care—especially given the fact that ER patients are already very sick and may have acute or life-threatening conditions.

Why Are Emergency Rooms High-Risk for Medical Errors?

Emergency rooms are fast-paced and high-pressure environments. Doctors and nurses must make split-second decisions with limited information while also navigating overcrowding, understaffing, and time constraints. However, these pressures don’t excuse the medical negligence that can take place there.

In fact, studies indicate that the ER is one of the leading settings for preventable medical errors, in part due to:

• Communication breakdowns between triage staff, nurses, and attending physicians
• Failure to review medical history or previous records in a timely manner
• Inadequate follow-up on abnormal lab or test results
• Lack of standardized protocols for high-risk complaints (chest pain, head trauma, etc.)

Emergency Room Negligence in West Virginia: What the Law Says

In West Virginia, emergency room negligence is treated the same as medical malpractice. A patient must prove the following to file a successful claim:

• The hospital or ER staff owed a duty to the patient  
• The ER staff breached the applicable standard of care
• This breach directly and proximately caused harm to the patient
• The patient suffered actual damages (i.e., medical costs, disability, pain and suffering, etc.)

Note: West Virginia also has several procedural requirements that apply to malpractice cases, including:

• A two-year statute of limitations from the date of the injury or its discovery
• Must serve pre-suit notice to each provider
• Must have a certificate of merit from a qualified medical expert

At Crim Law, we handle all these technical requirements for our clients, so they can focus on their recovery—not the red tape.

Examples of ER Negligence Lawsuits

Each case is different, of course. But here are some of the most common fact patterns that can result in lawsuits against emergency rooms.

• Stroke Misdiagnosis: Patient comes in with dizziness, confusion, or other symptoms but is sent home with a dehydration or sinusitis diagnosis. The patient suffers a debilitating stroke hours later.
• Missed Internal Bleeding: Patient, who was involved in a car accident, complains of abdominal pain but was not CT scanned. Undiagnosed internal bleeding leads to cardiac arrest.
• Delayed Heart Attack Diagnosis: A patient with chest pain is made to wait hours without an EKG or cardiac enzyme test. The patient suffers a fatal heart attack before ever being examined by a doctor.
• Pediatric Emergency Errors: Children are especially vulnerable to ER mistakes when staff fail to catch signs of appendicitis, sepsis, or allergic reactions.

These examples are not only tragic—they’re preventable.  

Who Can Be Held Liable for Emergency Room Negligence?

Several parties can potentially be held legally liable for medical malpractice in the ER, including:

• Emergency room physicians
• Triage nurses or attending nurses
• Radiologists or lab technicians who misread results
• The hospital or healthcare system that’s responsible for training, staffing, and safety protocols

In many cases, more than one party shares liability for an ER error.  Our legal team is here to investigate the entire chain of events and determine where each provider failed to uphold their duty of care, as well as how we can hold them legally liable.

How Our Attorneys Can Help Victims of ER Negligence

Medical malpractice lawsuits—especially those involving emergency room errors—require a law firm with extensive experience, resources, and a network of trusted medical experts. At Crim Law, we provide:

• Free consultations
• Contingency-based representation (no fees unless we win)
• Thorough medical record reviews
• Expert testimony coordination
• Aggressive negotiation and trial advocacy

We know how overwhelming and traumatic it can be to deal with medical issues. That’s why we’re here to shoulder that burden for you while fighting for the justice and compensation you deserve.

Suspect ER Negligence? Here’s What to Do

If you believe you or a loved one was harmed due to medical malpractice in a West Virginia emergency room, be sure to take these steps:

• Request your medical records immediately
• Document everything you remember about your visit
• Contact an experienced emergency room negligence attorney before signing anything or accepting a settlement
• Act quickly to preserve your rights before the statute of limitations expires

A Trip to the ER Shouldn’t End in a Lawsuit—But Sometimes, It Does

You went to the emergency room to get help. Instead, you were hurt. Whether it was a misdiagnosis, a rushed discharge, or an agonizing delay, you deserve answers. And you deserve accountability. Our emergency room negligence lawyers represent victims throughout West Virginia. We believe that hospitals should be safe places—and when they aren’t, we need to hold someone accountable. Contact us today for immediate assistance.