Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C.has successfully represented many clients who experienced a misdiagnosis of a heart attack. We have also helped families who have lost loved ones as a result of this type of medical error.
If you or someone you love suffered health damage or died because a medical professional did not diagnose a heart attack correctly, call the Philadelphia wrongful death lawyer at Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C., today.
Each year, an estimated 805,000 Americans suffer a heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart attacks can be fatal, especially if not treated quickly. Unfortunately, doctors sometimes misdiagnose heart attacks as other conditions, leading to delays in treatment that can have dire consequences.
Our Philadelphia heart attack misdiagnosis attorneys can offer invaluable assistance in exploring your options to recover compensation from those who are to blame for your losses.
Who Can Be Held Responsible For A Heart Attack Misdiagnosis?
You may be able to hold a caregiver responsible for misdiagnosing a heart attack. You will need to show:
- The care provider owed you a duty. If you are visiting a doctor as a patient at a hospital or a clinic, the doctor owes you a duty to provide a professional level of care.
- The care provider fell short. The standard used to determine if a care provider fell short is a professional standard of care in medical malpractice claims. This means the doctor’s actions or inactions are compared to what a hypothetical reasonable doctor with the same training would have done. A cardiologist, in other words, would be expected to be better at diagnosing a heart attack than a family physician.
- The failure was the direct cause of harm. You’ll need to show that the doctor’s errors in diagnosing the heart attack caused you to experience more severe harm.
- You suffered damages that you can be compensated for. You should be prepared to show losses, including medical bills due to the misdiagnosis, lost wages, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.
If you can prove that a care provider was negligent in missing your heart attack, you can often hold both the provider and their employer responsible. That’s because workers are considered agents of employees. This means that if a hospital cardiologist or ER doctor missed signs of a heart attack that they should have seen, you can file a Philadelphia medical malpractice claim against the doctor and hospital.
Common Causes Of Heart Attack Misdiagnosis
Heart attacks can be misdiagnosed for many different reasons, especially if the patients are not the type of patients that a doctor would expect to experience a heart attack. For example, heart attacks are more commonly misdiagnosed in young people and in women.
Some of the more common reasons for doctors misdiagnosing heart attacks include:
- Not performing the proper tests. Care providers should consider ordering a chest X-ray, an echocardiogram, blood tests, and an electrocardiogram when a patient presents with possible signs of a heart attack in order to perform the proper diagnostic testing. Often, a doctor may dismiss a patient’s symptoms or not recognize that the symptoms are a sign of a heart attack, and may not order the proper diagnostic tests as a result. This can lead to a heart attack being missed.
- Reading test results incorrectly. Sometimes, test results come back and show signs of heart problems, but doctors do not read the results correctly. This is more likely to occur when a doctor is short-staffed or when the results are read by someone without the proper experience, such as by an ER doctor instead of by a trained cardiologist with appropriate professional experience.
- Incorrectly diagnosing another issue. There are other conditions, including heartburn, acid reflux, and anxiety, that can cause symptoms similar to a heart attack. If a care provider believes a patient is suffering from these medical issues instead of from a heart attack, the doctor may not provide the proper diagnosis or the proper care. This is an especially common issue when someone who isn’t at high risk of having a heart attack comes to a hospital and a doctor spends limited time with the patient.
- Not recognizing unusual symptoms. Not every patient experiences the typical symptoms of a heart attack. Atypical symptoms like nausea and muscle pain may not tip off a doctor to a heart attack or cause the doctor to do the proper diagnostic workup.
These are just some of the reasons why a heart attack may not be diagnosed correctly. When these mistakes are made, in some cases, the medical professionals who made them can be held legally liable for medical negligence. Our Philadelphia ER malpractice attorneys are ready to fight for maximum compensation after a heart attack misdiagnosis.
What Are The Consequences Of A Misdiagnosed Heart Attack?
When treatment for a heart attack is delayed, this can result in:
- Severe damage to the heart muscle
- Heart failure
- Death
This damage can result in a patient becoming unable to do activities they once enjoyed and can, in some cases, result in the need for a heart transplant when otherwise the patient might have recovered if they had been given prompt treatment. The damage can be life-changing.
Proving the damage resulting from the misdiagnosed heart attack can be challenging, as doctors often argue that the heart attack itself was the cause of the harm, rather than the misdiagnosis. It is important to work with a heart attack misdiagnosis lawyer who is familiar with this argument and who can help you present the right evidence to rebut it.
Getting Help From A Philadelphia Heart Attack Misdiagnosis Lawyer
A Philadelphia heart attack misdiagnosis lawyer at Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C. can provide the help and support you need in determining if you have a Philadelphia hospital malpractice claim after a misdiagnosis and in taking appropriate legal action to get the money you deserve.
We have recovered millions for medical malpractice victims and can represent you both in and out of court. We don’t charge legal fees unless we win, and we have a long history of successful settlements and court verdicts. Give us a call today to schedule a personalized consultation and learn more about how we can help you.