Medical Malpractice in the Waiting Room: Who Is at Risk?

TL;DR

Long waits in emergency departments can lead to legal issues if patients suffer due to poor care in the waiting room.

Contribution

The paper highlights legal risks from poor waiting room management and provides case examples to raise awareness.

Findings

Ten lawsuits were analyzed where poor waiting room care led to legal action.

EMTALA and common law require proactive care for waiting room patients.

Legal risks can be reduced by understanding and following these obligations.

Abstract

Prolonged emergency department (ED) wait times pose problems for both patients and ED staff. Poor patient outcomes can result in litigation that could have been prevented by faster access to care.

We present 10 lawsuits involving patients who experienced poor outcomes allegedly due to inappropriate management in the waiting room. These cases involved allegations of violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) or general negligence and were levied against both the physicians and hospitals involved.

Both common law and EMTALA’s medical screening exam requirements impose significant obligations on physicians and hospitals to proactively manage patients in the waiting room. Being familiar with these requirements may help minimize legal risks.