Cardiac Misdiagnosis Lawyer in San Francisco

Failure to Diagnose Heart Attack, Heart Disease & Cardiac Conditions

Health care providers are obligated to care for patients in a manner that conforms to accepted medical standards. For cardiac conditions and medical emergencies such as heart attack, this can include making an accurate and timely diagnosis and providing prompt and appropriate treatment.

Unfortunately, providers do not always meet the standard of care.

If you or your loved one were harm due to a provider’s misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a cardiac condition, including heart attack or heart disease, you may be entitled to compensation. Bostwick & Peterson, LLP is one of California’s leading medical malpractice firms, and can help review your case and legal options.

Why Choose Bostwick & Peterson, LLP?

• More than $1 Billion in compensation recovered for clients.
• Record-setting verdicts and settlements, including the largest medical malpractice recovery in California history ($17M).
• Award-winning attorneys and an ABPLA Certified Medical Malpractice Specialist (James S. Bostwick).

Bostwick & Peterson is a U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” Tier 1 law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions in compensation for victims of medical malpractice. Our team leverages decades of experience to help clients fight for the compensation they deserve

Speak with a San Francisco attorney about your potential cardiac or heart attack misdiagnosis case during a FREE consultation. Call (888) 831-8448 or contact us online.

Cardiac Misdiagnosis & Failure to Diagnose

An accurate and timely diagnosis is critical to ensuring patients receive prompt treatment – especially in cases involving cardiac conditions. In medical emergencies such as heart attacks, recognizing cardiac symptoms and making a timely diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death.

A failure to diagnose or a misdiagnosis of cardiac condition commonly occurs when patients seek medical attention for cardiac symptoms (such as arm, neck or chest pain, dizziness, sweating, fatigue, and shortness of breath) that warrant further evaluation for medical problems such as:

• Heart attack (myocardial infarction)
• Coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis)
• Cardiac ischemia / myocardial ischemia
• Atrial fibrillation and arrhythmia
• Heart infections
• Congestive heart failure
• Congenital or valvular heart disease
• Blood clots

Providers who err in treating patients who present with cardiac symptoms may misdiagnose underlying conditions as vertigo, acid reflux, gastrointestinal issues, muscle strain, or other innocuous ailments. A misdiagnosis or missed diagnose, however, can prevent patients from receiving the care they need to mitigate or avoid serious medical emergencies, adverse health outcomes, or death.

When injuries or death occur after patients failed to receive important care, it is worth investigating whether medical negligence may be involved.

Do I Have a Cardiac Malpractice Lawsuit?

If you believe a misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, or other medical mistake caused you or your loved one to suffer injury or wrongful death, you may have a claim for compensation.

By law, physicians, ER doctors, specialists, and other providers owe their patients a duty to provide care that falls within the accepted standard of care. Per California’s Civil Jury Instructions (CACI 500), the standard of care for health care providers is generally:

“The level of skill, knowledge, and care in diagnosis and treatment that other reasonable careful providers would use in the same of similar circumstances.”

When providers fail to meet the standard of care and cause patients harm they would not have otherwise suffered, those providers may be held liable for negligence. Of course, malpractice lawsuits are very fact-specific, and the circumstances surrounding your case – including the cardiac symptoms, underlying condition, and care provided – will ultimately determine if you have a viable claim.

How Will I Know if My Doctor Was Negligent in Misdiagnosing or Failing to Diagnose a Heart Attack or Cardiac Condition?

Medical negligence is not always obvious. Often, identifying substandard care requires in-depth investigations, exhaustive reviews of medical records, and collaboration with medical experts who can provide their opinions about the quality of care provided to a patient, and the accepted standards for treating certain health conditions.

While the best way to determine if your doctor was negligent is to have your case reviewed by a qualified attorney, there are many ways providers may deviate from accepted standards when diagnosing and treating patients with cardiac conditions. Some examples include:

• Failure to recognize cardiac symptoms and follow accepted protocol.
• Failure to order and perform necessary testing, including EKG / ECG, echocardiograms, ultrasound, X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and blood / lab tests.
• Failure to correctly interpret lab or imaging test results, including failure to diagnose sclerotic lesions / narrowing of arteries.
• Failure to perform an adequate patient examination, including a proper medical history, screening, and differential diagnosis.
• Failure to adequately assess patient risk factors or complaints, consider cardiac conditions in patients with known risk factors, or assess potential cardiac conditions in patients with atypical patient profiles (i.e. no history of cardiac conditions or comorbidities, age 40 or younger, etc.).
• Misdiagnosing heart attack, heart disease, or other cardiac conditions as non-serious medical conditions, including panic attacks or acid reflux.
• Administrative errors involving failures to communicate a patient’s symptoms, medical history, risk factors, or other essential information when referring or transferring patients.
• Failures to appropriately assess, diagnose, and treat patients who present with cardiac symptoms to Emergency Departments.