Strokes and heart attacks often develop over many years. They may start with blocked arteries or disease and advance quietly for years before triggering an event that sends the person to the doctor or the emergency room. The difficulty with strokes and heart attacks is that they often appear at first glance to be another condition. A person who has frequent bouts of heartburn and indigestion may think that a heart attack is just another case of indigestion. Someone with a history of migraines and tension headaches may treat the beginnings of a stroke as just another headache. The average person can be forgiven for doing that-a doctor in the emergency room cannot.
When a patient appears in an emergency room or urgent care facility complaining of the symptoms that indicate a heart attack or a stroke, a physician is obligated to perform the routine tests to diagnose the heart attack or stroke, or rule out its existence. That is why a person goes to the hospital and that is what they have a right to expect. Sadly, if an emergency room or urgent care facility physician fails to take enough time with the patient to recognize all of the symptoms, they may not order the appropriate tests such as cardiac enzymes, EEGs, EKGs, MRIs, MRAs and CT scans.
Especially with strokes, TTAs, TIAs and heart attacks, prompt treatment is essential given the availability of drugs and surgical procedures which minimize the potential for irreversible injury. A negligent physician who fails to act to stop the progression of a heart attack or stroke puts you at risk for brain damage, paralysis or long-term disability, even death. These types of injuries, though not always unavoidable, are certainly catastrophic, especially when they could have been avoided.
If you or a family member have suffered from:
and feel the personnel in the emergency room or urgent care facility did not do all they could to head off the occurrence, or if they sent you home only to have you return later, you should have a medical malpractice lawyer who is qualified in both the law and medicine, examine your medical records to see if something more could have been done.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area medical malpractice attorneys of Richards & Richards, LLP offer free, no-obligation initial consultations in a range of personal injury cases, including those involving medical malpractice, wrongful death and related wrong diagnosis and medical negligence issues. Please Contact us today or call (412) 261-2620 to have your medical malpractice case involving a stroke or heart attack evaluated by an attorney with a background in medicine. Our Malpractice Lawyers will consult with qualified medical professionals and they know what questions to ask to get answers.
If you cannot make it to our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania offices, a Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Attorney can meet with you at your home and even at the hospital. There is no fee unless a financial recovery is made.
