Personal Injury Law

Heart Attacks A Common Medical Malpractice

By Moseley Collins, Esq.

Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans today. In the United States, one-fourth of all Americans have heart disease, accounting for about 64 million people. In our home of Sacramento, California, about 450,000 people suffer from heart disease. Each year, about 7 million people will go to the hospital complaining of symptoms associated with heart attack. Each minute, one person will die from a heart attack. Every 20 seconds, one person suffers from a heart attack.

These numbers are truly staggering. Heart disease and heart attacks are a huge concern for the United States. One of the most vital things for a person to do is go to the hospital immediately when showing symptoms of a heart attack. Some common symptoms of a heart attack are: unusual shortness of breath, chest pain (tightness, squeezing, pressure), nausea and vomiting, cold sweats, and pain in other upper areas of the body.

Heart attacks are one of the top five misdiagnosed diseases in terms of dollar awards. Misdiagnosis of heart attacks can often happen in atypical circumstances. The person may not have the most common signs of heart attack, such as severe chest pain, or they may not fit the typical mold a heart attack victim, for example a younger individual. Because the outward signs do not show through, some doctors may forgo the necessary tests and procedures.

When a doctor or other medical professional misdiagnoses a heart attack, the results can be very severe and detrimental, causing life-long injury, paralysis, or even death. If you or a loved one have suffered because of a misdiagnosed heart attack, please call me at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins. I will go over your legal rights and let you know your options.

Take care all?

To read more about misdiagnosis of heart attacks, please click here and here.

Full post as published by Sacramento Injury Lawyer Blog on September 08, 2007 (boomark / email).