ED Legal Letter – August 1, 2004
August 1, 2004
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A bad break: Preventing potential orthopedic litigation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that fractures were the fourth-leading cause of injury-related emergency department visits in 2000, accounting for 3.8 million visits. Patients may develop serious and life-threatening complications of orthopedic trauma. Because signs and symptoms of these complications may not be readily apparent when patients present, emergency physicians and nurses need to be cognizant of high-risk presentations. This months issue focuses on these high-risk presentations, including open fractures, compartment syndromes, malignancies, and septic joints.