Hospitals are noisy places. There are alarms on virtually every machine, and sounds of monitors throughout medical facilities across the country. These alarms are meant to help nurses and doctors know when something is going wrong with a patient.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of patients who have been harmed because of alarms. It isn’t because the alarms are going off, but because they are being ignored or muted, which is resulting in patient neglect.

While many alarms go off unnecessarily, they should still be checked promptly when they sound. Not doing so when a patient is having an actual emergency could result in severe injury or even death. This hospital neglect should not be occurring. When nurses and doctors hear alarms, they should respond quickly to ensure that if an emergency is occurring, it is handled quickly.

Alarm fatigue is a growing problem in hospitals, and families are having to pay the price. When a patient is injured because of medical malpractice, they could be faced with thousands of dollars of additional medical expenses. If the neglect of a patient leads to a disability, they could be forced to quit their jobs, resulting in reduced income for their family.

This means they will have to pay for increased expenses, but won’t have an income to help them pay those expenses. Speaking with an attorney who has experience handling medical malpractice cases in Pittsburgh might be a wise decision. They can help a person understand their rights and work to seek compensation.

Source: The Washington Post, “Too much noise from hospital alarms poses risk for patients,” Lena H. Sun, July 7, 2013