When a Failure to Diagnose a Heart Attack Causes a Patient’s Injury or Death, Call our Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyer for Help
A heart attack is a serious medical emergency that must be dealt with appropriately and immediately or it can lead to patient death or serious injury. The failure to diagnose a heart attack can lead to a patient’s injury or death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 805,000 people in the United States have heart attacks every year, with a heart attack occurring approximately every 40 seconds. With proper diagnosis and treatment, many people can survive a heart attack. However, if they are not provided with the standard of care, catastrophic consequences can occur. When a patient experiencing a heart attack receives substandard care resulting in injury or death, it is considered to be medical malpractice.
Here at CK Legal, our experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help handle any type of cardiac medical malpractice event. This includes a failure to diagnose a heart attack, as well as a failure to diagnose an aortic dissection, a-fib, infection, or other heart-related ailment. Victims and their families should contact our experienced medical malpractice lawyer for help if you or a loved one have suffered any type of heart-related injury or illness due to a healthcare provider’s delay in treatment.
What Workup Should be Performed For a Patient Suffering From a Potential Heart Attack?
Any patient coming in with possible signs or symptoms of a heart attack should be assessed immediately. Assessment should include the following:
- Electrocardiogram (EKG) – While a single EKG cannot rule out a heart attack, it can identify in some patients that they are experiencing a heart attack. Patients with symptoms of a heart attack should receive monitoring over an extended period of time as a heart attack is not always apparent when an EKG is performed over the course of a few minutes
- Cardiac Enzymes – Creatinine kinase, myoglobin, and troponin should be run to see if there are any abnormalities that would point to a heart attack
- Thorough Assessment and History – It is essential to ask patients questions about their medical history, when the symptoms started, what makes the symptoms worse, etc
Who Is Responsible for Patient Injury or Death Due to Substandard Care Given to Heart Attack Patients?
There are many different people that may be responsible for any injuries sustained due to substandard care. Primary care physicians may be responsible if they fail to take a patient’s complaints seriously, fail to conduct proper testing or fail to refer to an emergency room. Emergency room physicians may be at fault if they do not properly assess patients with symptoms of a heart attack, if they do not conduct proper testing, and if they do not provide care in a timely manner.
Triage nurses may be responsible if they do not triage patients having symptoms of a heart attack as needing to be seen urgently, leaving them to wait hours which can lead to death or serious harm. A cardiologist can be responsible if he or she fails to properly assess, diagnose, or treat a heart attack.
Heart Attack Medical Malpractice
There are many ways in which a person can suffer harm or death due to medical malpractice. It is a healthcare provider’s responsibility to always thoroughly investigate a patient’s complaints, especially if a heart attack is suspected. Any patient suffering from symptoms of a heart attack should be taken seriously. Examples of medical malpractice in relation to heart attack patients include the following:
- Failure to properly assess
- Failure to properly treat
- Failure to conduct appropriate testing
- Failure to appropriately refer (i.e. to an emergency room or cardiologist)
- Failure to perform EKG
- Failure to test cardiac enzymes
- Failure to appropriately triage
- Failure to assess the patient in a timely manner
- Failure to treat the patient in a timely manner
Failure to Diagnose a Heart Attack Could Be Due to Medical Malpractice: We Can Help
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice contact the Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form. We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.
Our law firm handles cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Sisters, Madras, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, La Grande, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton, Cottage Grove, Florence, Oregon City, Springfield, Keizer, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Tualatin, West Linn, Forest Grove, Wilsonville, Newberg, Roseburg, Lake Oswego, Klamath Falls, Happy Valley, Tigard, Ashland, Milwakie, Coos Bay, The Dalles, St. Helens, Sherwood, Central Point, Canby, Troutdale, Hermiston, Silverton, Hood River, Newport, Prineville, Astoria, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Hillsboro, and Vancouver, Washington.
We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take medical malpractice cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.
