Legal Assistance for Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose and Treat Strokes

Stroke treatment depends on the type of stroke. There are two types: ischemic and hemorrhagic. An ischemic stroke describes cut off blood supply due to an embolism (which is usually a blood clot or piece of plaque)  in the bloodstream. This is the most common type of stroke, accounting for about 87% of all stroke cases. A hemorrhagic stroke is less common and occurs when a blood vessel ruptures within the brain. The treatment goal for an ischemic stroke is to break up or remove the blood clot to restore blood flow to that brain area. The goal of treating a hemorrhagic stroke is to stop the bleeding in the brain.

Before a doctor can choose the appropriate treatment for a stroke, they must properly diagnose the condition. Oftentimes, the failure to timely treat a stroke arises from failures to diagnose that a stroke has occurred or may occur from the beginning.

Failure to diagnose and failure to properly treat stroke are both types of medical malpractice. Failure to diagnose stroke can happen if a physician ignores the warning signs of a stroke, such as rapid breathing, chest pain, weakness in the limbs, previous stroke or mini-stroke (also known as TIA) or a drooping face, or fails to order the proper tests to diagnose stroke. A delayed diagnosis can result in delayed treatment that would otherwise prevent the patient from suffering permanent brain damage.

To stop the source of the stroke and halt the death of the brain’s cells, a doctor must administer swift treatment. One way to treat a clot-related stroke is to give the patient a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) or another drug for thrombolytic therapy if the stroke is caught early enough. Thrombolytic medicines can dissolve blood clots, restoring blood flow to the brain and avoiding damage.  

Another cutting-edge way to treat strokes is to run a small catheter or wire through an artery in the leg to the brain. The clot can then be removed mechanically or broken up with a tiny amount of a clot-busting medication applied directly. Such emergency treatments are best performed as soon as possible. Failure to act quickly, resulting in patient injury or death, could be medical malpractice.