Determining Liability in Florida Stroke Misdiagnosis Cases

Strokes are often misdiagnosed in Palm Beach Gardens. There are hospitals in the area that advertise themselves as stroke centers and do not know how to evaluate a patient for a stroke. The most common forms of misdiagnosis in Palm Beach Gardens are stroke and delayed diagnosis of cancer. Once a stroke misdiagnosis occurs, it could lead to serious and sometimes fatal consequences for you or your loved one. That is why it is important to work with a skilled stroke misdiagnosis lawyer that has experience determining liability in Palm Beach Gardens stroke misdiagnosis cases, that could work tirelessly towards a positive outcome for you.

Consequences of Misdiagnosing a Stroke

The consequences of misdiagnosing a stroke are brain damage and death. The reason that a stroke is so dangerous is that it prevents blood and oxygen from getting to whatever part of the brain has been blocked off. Every minute the brain goes without oxygen, thousands of brain cells die. The longer one goes without treatment, the more brain damage they are going to have.

Many people die from strokes that are not treated. If one waits too long, the effects are not reversible. If someone catches a stroke within the window of treatment, a lot of the effects are reversible since the brain cells are not all dead. Their body and the brain could learn to adapt to what happened. If someone waits too long, there is no treatment available. Their brain dies and they have permanent brain damage.

Correlation Between Stroke Fatality Rates and Stroke Misdiagnosis

The fatality rate in strokes correlates with stroke misdiagnosis in Palm Beach Gardens because people who do not have their strokes treated in a timely manner are at a much higher risk of death and permanent disability and injury. For this reason, it is important for strokes to be treated timely. Every minute one goes without oxygen to the brain is a minute that something horrible could happen and they could die.

How a Patient’s Medical History Can Impact a Diagnosis

A patient’s medical history might impact the potential diagnosis of a stroke, because certain people are at a higher risk for strokes, such as smokers, people with diabetes, people with high blood pressure, and people with high cholesterol. Those things need to be taken into consideration when trying to figure out if the person is at risk for stroke and if they need to be more vigilant about looking for stroke when they are acting strangely. In relation to a stroke diagnosis, a physical exam of a patient might reveal common symptoms, like if a person is having weakness on one side of their body, drooping, balance issues, and coordination issues. When determining liability in Palm Beach Gardens stroke misdiagnosis cases, an attorney might investigate whether medical professionals took the injured party’s medical history into account before diagnosing them.

The Duty Palm Beach Gardens Hospitals Have to Patients

Palm Beach Gardens hospitals have a duty to the patient, as well. The hospitals are responsible, especially in stroke cases, for putting together stroke plans. They are accredited as stroke centers. They have a duty to train the doctors and the nurses working there on how to properly treat and diagnose a stroke as well as treat other patients within the standard of care. They also have a duty to make sure that the doctors and nurses working in their facilities are properly trained, keep up to date on the medicine, pay attention to their patients, and provide appropriate care.

If a hospital is hiring doctors who do not know what they are doing, are frequently making mistakes, or who are not qualified to do the job that they are doing, the hospital is responsible for what happens within their walls. When determining liability in Palm Beach Gardens stroke misdiagnosis cases, attorneys will take the hospital’s duty into account. That is why it is important to work with a knowledgeable lawyer that could pursue a positive outcome for them.