Philadelphia Failure to Diagnose Heart Attack Lawyer
One of the most common reasons that patients visit an emergency room is chest pain. As such, ER doctors are used to, and trained to, diagnose heart attacks. If a patient goes to the hospital complaining of chest pain, shoulder pain, or other common symptoms of a heart attack, it is a doctor’s duty to immediately begin diagnostic screening and testing to determine whether the cause is cardiac arrest or another condition. failure to do so can lead to serious injury or death. If you or a loved one is not properly diagnosed, the Philadelphia failure to diagnose heart attack lawyer at The Villari Firm, PLLC is here to help you hold the hospital or urgent care accountable for their negligence.
Common Symptoms of a Heart Attack
The signs of a heart attack are relatively simple for an experienced physician to interpret. While they signs and symptoms vary from patient to patient, they generally include:
- Chest pain that persists for minutes at a time
- Chest discomfort, pressure, or a sense of fullness at the center of the chest
- Pain in the arms, upper back, neck, stomach, jaw, and shoulder
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty breathing or taking in a full breath
- Nausea
- Profuse sweating and/or fever
- Pale, clammy skin
- Headache
- Confusion or panic
- Distended jugular vein
Whenever a patient presents any of these symptoms, a reasonably prudent physician would order diagnostic testing to conclude whether the patient is or is not having a heart attack.
Causes of Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose
A few of the most common reasons a heart attack is not diagnosed involve the following:
- Doctor misinterprets symptoms
- Doctor ignores warning signs
- Doctor turns patient away before proper testing is carried out
- Doctor fails to perform or order additional diagnostic testing
- Doctor orders the wrong type of testing
- Doctor fails to read or interpret test results
- Equipment malfunction
- Diagnostic testing error
- Failure to take into account pre-existing conditions
- Failure to take into account the patient’s medical or family history
- There is confusion in the emergency room, possibly due to short staffing
Emergency room doctors are not the only party that may be responsible for a failed diagnosis. Any of the following parties can be liable of negligence:
- ER doctor
- Cardiologist
- General practitioner
- Registered nurse
- Certified nursing assistant
- Nurse practitioner,
- Hospital administration
- Radiologist
- Imaging technician
- Diagnostic laboratory
Contact a Philadelphia Failure to Diagnose Heart Attack Lawyer Today
It can be extremely difficult to find out what happened, and where errors were made along the way, when a patient suffers a heart attack that was not properly diagnosed in time. There are many different parties that owe a duty of care to a patient, and it is necessary to prove how the failed diagnosis happened, and by which party. For these reasons, it is necessary to work with an experienced Philadelphia failure to diagnose heart attack lawyer if you believe that medical malpractice occurred. Call The Villari Firm today at 215-372-8889 for a free consultation.
