Low staff levels attributed to New York man's death in ER lobby

From time to time, the waiting room of hospital emergency rooms can become very crowded. As a result, patients may have to wait for quite some time before they can receive medical attention. For some people, time spent waiting is just a major inconvenience, but for others it's the difference between life and death.

On a recent night, a 30-year-old man checked into a busy New York emergency room. He presented symptoms of a rash and hospital staff checked his vital signs, according to the International Business Times, Tragically, the man passed away in the lobby while he waited for several hours. It wasn't until the next morning that a hospital worker found him unresponsive in a chair.

Officials from the hospital say that staff checked in on the man numerous times before he passed away. However, an employee who was working in the ER that night denied the hospital's claim by said there was a failure to monitor the patient. Based on the number of people in the waiting room and the relatively small number of staff, it was impossible to check on everyone waiting.

The ER staff member recalls that the man's name was called multiple times to visit with a doctor, but he never presented himself. As such, why didn't the hospital take steps to look for the man?

Despite what the hospital is officially saying, this ER staff member believes that hospital error contributed to the man's death. There simply should have been more staff on duty that night.

Not only are hospitals responsible for providing adequate levels of staff in emergency rooms, but they should also advise employees about proper triage procedures. There's a chance that this man's case was not correctly prioritized or his condition was not properly assessed when he checked in that night. Whatever the case, it will be important for the man's loved ones and future emergency room visitors to ensure that hospitals takes steps to prevent this kind of incident from happening in the future.

Source: International Business Times, "Who Is John Verrier? NY Man Dies After 8-Hour Wait In Emergency Room," Treye Green, Jan. 25, 2014