Accident and Emergency (A&E) / Emergency Department (ED) Claims

The Accident and Emergency Department (increasingly called the Emergency Department) is one of the busiest departments in a hospital. NHS England has reported that in the period 2020-21 there were 17.43 million A&E attendances across the country. Whilst the vast majority of A&E patients receive excellent care, mistakes occasionally happen which cause the patient to suffer avoidable harm. If you have been injured or suffered illness as a result of substandard care from A&E doctors, nurses or staff, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

The Accident and Emergency Department (increasingly called the Emergency Department) is one of the busiest departments in a hospital. NHS England has reported that in the period 2020-21 there were 17.43 million A&E attendances across the country. Whilst the vast majority of A&E patients receive excellent care, mistakes occasionally happen which cause the patient to suffer avoidable harm. If you have been injured or suffered illness as a result of substandard care from A&E doctors, nurses or staff, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

Our specialist medical negligence solicitors have experience in assisting clients who have been injured as a result of substandard care provided in A&E. The most common errors made in A&E arise from:

  • Failure to take a detailed history from the patient
  • Failure to examine the patient properly or at all
  • Delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, or failure to diagnose
  • Failure to diagnose fractures
  • Failure to refer for appropriate diagnostic tests or scans
  • Misinterpretation of test results, x-rays or scans
  • Discharging patients without considering test results, x-rays or scans
  • Inappropriate discharge
  • Delayed treatment
  • Failure to refer or delayed referral to a speciality within the hospital or to another hospital
  • Failure by a junior doctor to refer a patient for senior review
  • Administration of the wrong medication or incorrect dosage
  • Missing obvious symptoms of life threatening conditions such as appendicitis, meningitis, sepsis, cauda equina syndrome, heart attack or stroke
  • Failure to provide ‘safety net’ advice to a patient in case their condition deteriorates

If you wish to discuss a potential clinical negligence claim with our specialist solicitors you can email us, use our online enquiry form, or call us for free on 0800 008 7450.