Emergency Room Error

Emergency rooms are a chaotic environment of hard-working medical professionals, who do their jobs under extreme pressure and make quick decisions. Combine that with an understaffed, poorly-trained or poorly-equipped hospital, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Don’t let an emergency room error go unchallenged. The team at Fieger Law is here to fight for you and protect your rights. We’ve helped hundreds of emergency room error victims collect fair and just compensation, and we can help you.

ERs see a wide variety of medical emergencies, but certain types of errors consistently appear in malpractice cases. Those include:

Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis

Conditions like heart attacks, strokes, sepsis, and pulmonary embolism are frequently misdiagnosed or overlooked. A 2022 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that diagnostic errors affect 1 in every 18 ER patients nationwide, often leading to delayed treatment when minutes matter.

Failure to Order Necessary Tests

ER doctors may fail to order imaging, bloodwork, or specialized evaluations, especially during periods of overcrowding. Missing these tests can prevent early detection of internal bleeding, infections, or neurological events.

Medication Errors

Rushed environments increase the risk of incorrect dosages, anesthesia errors, drug mix-ups, or harmful interactions. These medication errors are especially dangerous for older adults and patients with chronic medical conditions.

Triage Errors

Patients may be incorrectly labeled as “low priority,” leading to hours-long waits. In Detroit hospitals serving large populations, triage missteps are a common cause of worsening symptoms.

Premature Discharge

When patients are sent home too early or with incomplete testing, serious conditions may go untreated.

Emergency room mistakes are alarmingly common across the U.S. According to the 2022 HHS study, it’s estimated that among 130 million ER visits each year that 7.4 million patients are misdiagnosed, 2.6 million experience an adverse event as a result, and about 370,000 are seriously harmed from a diagnostic error.

The potential impact of ER errors can be severe:

• Long-term disability
• Progression of untreated infections
• Permanent neurological damage
• Organ failure
• Wrongful death

Patients may face extended hospitalization, rehabilitation, or lifelong medical needs due to simple mistakes that could have been avoided with proper care. If you or someone you love was injured because of an ER error, call Fieger Law for a free case review today.

In Detroit, high-volume hospitals such as Henry Ford Hospital and DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital treat thousands of emergency cases each week, serving communities with high rates of chronic disease, trauma, and limited access to primary care.

These factors increase the complexity of ER evaluations, but that doesn’t excuse preventable mistakes. Common causes of mistakes include:

Overcrowding and High Patient Volume

Detroit ERs often experience surges related to seasonal illness, trauma incidents, and ambulance traffic from surrounding cities. Overcrowding increases the likelihood of rushed evaluations.

Understaffing

Hospitals across Michigan continue to report nurse shortages and high turnover, placing unreasonable workloads on remaining staff.

Inadequate Communication

Shift changes and department handoffs often result in lost information. Miscommunication between staff, specialists, or diagnostic departments is one of the most frequent causes of serious ER mistakes.

Inexperienced Providers

Major Detroit hospitals serve as teaching facilities, meaning residents and medical students may be involved in patient assessments. Lack of experience can lead to missed warning signs.

Systemic Failures

Broken equipment, delayed lab processing, and outdated protocols can contribute to slow or incorrect diagnoses.

When hospitals fail to manage these risks, preventable harm becomes more likely. Fortunately, most of Michigan’s 79 hospitals received high marks on the November 2025 report by the patient safety organization Leapfrog Group. Seven hospitals, however, received a grade of D or F, including three in metro Detroit.

In addition to hospitals, those affected by ER negligence can rely on multiple Detroit-area resources for support, documentation, or follow-up care. Those include:

• Detroit Police Department: For incidents involving motor vehicle crashes, assaults, or injuries requiring official documentation
• Wayne County Health Department: Provides public health resources and alerts that may intersect with ER malpractice cases
• Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs: Families can review hospital complaints or file concerns about provider conduct
• Michigan Health & Hospital Association: Offers statewide patient safety information

These resources can help victims gather important documentation and file complaints that can be helpful when building a legal case.

If you believe an ER mistake has harmed you or a loved one, take the following steps:

• Seek immediate medical attention at a different facility if symptoms worsen.
• Request copies of all medical records, including triage notes, imaging, labs, and discharge paperwork.
• Document symptoms. Written notes, photographs, and timelines can all be powerful evidence.
• Consult a medical expert to evaluate whether the ER’s actions fell below the standard of care.
• Contact an attorney experienced in ER error cases to ensure evidence is preserved and filing deadlines are met.

Hospitals are required to maintain records, incident logs, and internal communications, but these documents become harder to obtain as time passes. Working with the team at Fieger Law can take the documentation pressure off you, so you can focus on healing.

When an ER error causes avoidable harm, hospitals will often defend their actions aggressively. You deserve a firm with the resources and experience to go up against Michigan’s most powerful healthcare systems.

Fieger Law can:

• Investigate ER procedures, staffing levels, and safety violations
• Review medical records with independent experts
• Identify system-wide failures that contributed to the error
• Demand compensation for medical bills, lost income, future care needs, and pain and suffering
• Represent families in wrongful death cases involving fatal ER mistakes

Our attorneys have spent over 70 years standing up for patients harmed by negligent care providers. If you or a loved one was injured because an emergency room failed to take your symptoms seriously, we’re ready to fight for the accountability and answers you deserve.

For over 70 years, the lawyers at Fieger Law have fought and won compensation for victims of emergency room errors. If your family has suffered as the result of an emergency room error, the Fieger team can help. Contact Michigan’s top law firm specializing in this type of malpractice case today.