Misdiagnosis of a Heart Attack or Stroke by a Physician

One area of medical malpractice is medical misdiagnosis.  Medical misdiagnosis includes failure to diagnose cancer, a heart attack, a stroke, or an infection.  If the medical misdiagnosis leads to injuries to the patient, the patient may have a medical malpractice lawsuit against the medical professional or medical facility responsible.

Patients trust their physicians and pay them to accurately diagnose their medical condition and provide the proper medical treatment to cure them.  When a patient displays symptoms of a serious medical condition, it is imperative to the patient’s health and sometimes survival that the doctor accurately diagnoses the problem and provides the proper medical treatment.  Failure by the physician to diagnose the proper medical condition or misdiagnosing one medical condition for another medical condition can lead to the wrong drugs being prescribed, the wrong medical treatment provided, and the original medical condition being left untreated which will likely cause this condition to worsen.  This can lead to serious and permanent injuries to the patient, even death. 

There are many reasons why physicians can misdiagnose a patient.  They may have a waiting room full of patients and be forced to rush through the patients, not giving them the proper amount of time, they may ignore the patient’s description of their illness, they may be inexperienced, they may be tired, agitated or stressed, or taking a medication that alters their judgment.  There is a great article on this blog about doctor burnout where a greater number of doctors are simply no longer connected with their patients and simply lose compassion for them which results in poorer medical care being provided.

The question that must be answered is if an injury resulted from the misdiagnosis by the physician, could that injury have been prevented with the proper diagnosis?  If the injury resulting from the misdiagnosis could have been prevented the patient may have a medical malpractice case.

Types of medical misdiagnosis:

Misdiagnosis of a heart attack:  If a doctor fails to diagnose a heart attack, such as incorrectly blaming the warning signs as digestion or anxiety problems, this can lead to permanent heart damage or the patient could even die.  If a patient complains of shortness of breath, chest pain with a burning sensation, nausea, lightheadedness, sweating or fainting, the doctor should run the proper tests to make sure these are not symptoms of a heart attack.  The doctor can run tests that check for a heart attack including stress tests, electrocardiograms, angiograms, coronary artery disease tests, cardiac enzyme tests, and echocardiograms.

Misdiagnosis of a stroke:  If a doctor fails to diagnose the symptoms of a stroke, the patient can suffer serious and permanent brain injuries and even die.  The sooner a stroke is detected, the sooner treatment can start and the greater the chances the patient will be able to make a full recovery.  A stroke causes the blood supply that carries oxygen to the brain to be blocked.  When the brain is restricted of a proper oxygen supply for an extended length of time, severe and permanent brain and nerve damage will occur.  If the stroke is found early and treated right away, including treatment with drugs that break through the clots, blood flow can be restored to the patient’s brain, helping to prevent serious and permanent brain damage.

Infection Misdiagnosis:  Certain infections can cause serious injuries or even kill a patient if they are not diagnosed and treated right away.  A patient who receives a catastrophic injury or dies because a serious infection was not properly diagnosed and treated may have a medical malpractice claim.  One example of an infection misdiagnosis would be a bedsore infection, the type that sometimes happens to an elderly resident in a nursing home.  A bedsore infection that is ignored can lead to the patient needing an amputation or to the patient dying.  Another example of an infection misdiagnosis, a doctor may end up prescribing the wrong antibiotic for an infection that may lead to the patient’s death.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured because of medical misdiagnosis or other form of medical negligence, you may have a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Contact Los Angeles medical malpractice lawyer Dr. Bruce Fagel for a free consultation.  Dr. Fagel handles more medical malpractice cases throughout California than any other attorney. Dr. Fagel is a leading medical malpractice attorney and a licensed medical doctor.

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