Where does emergency care fail under cognitive overload?

Hi everyone,
I’m a medical student trying to better understand failure points in emergency and extreme clinical care settings (ER, EMS, ICU, and mass casualty situations), especially under high pressure and uncertainty.
I’d really appreciate insights from your experience on recurring problems—not rare edge cases.
If possible, I’d love to hear about issues in specific areas:
1. Triage / prioritization
Situations where the wrong patient was prioritized or someone was underestimated
2. Information gathering / early assessment
What is commonly missing or not captured early on?
3. Repeated clinical patterns (“you see this often”)
Cases that initially seem benign but later turn serious
4. Neurological / subtle deterioration (especially interested here)
Early neuro signs that tend to be overlooked or recognized too late
5. Mass casualty / extreme scenarios (if applicable)
What tends to break down when the system is overwhelmed?
In addition, I’d really value hearing about:
👉 Any other gaps, blind spots, or recurring problems that you feel are important but are not usually discussed or addressed
I’m especially interested in situations where, in hindsight, you felt:
“we had the information, but we didn’t act on it in time.”
Thanks a lot 🙏 this would really help me broaden my perspective.