You knew you were facing a potential medical emergency. You went to the emergency room with symptoms of a possible stroke. You may have presented with:
- A severe headache
- Dizziness
- Confusion or trouble understanding
- Difficulty speaking
- Paralysis of the face, arm, or leg—typically, on one side of your body
- Vision changes
- Trouble walking
Yet, when you got to the emergency room with one or more of these symptoms, you did not get the prompt treatment you needed.
Dangers of Delayed Stroke Treatment
Every minute that passes without medical treatment puts you at a higher risk of losing more brain tissue during a stroke. During a stroke, blood flow does not reach part of your brain. Without blood flow, your brain tissue may die and result in permanent brain damage or death.
When you get to the emergency room with symptoms of a stroke, you need a prompt CT scan to determine whether you are suffering from an ischemic stroke or a hemorrhagic stroke.
Emergency treatment is necessary for both types of strokes. For an ischemic stroke, you may need medication to treat your blood clot, and for a hemorrhagic stroke, you may need surgery. If you don’t get anti-clotting medicine or surgery soon after a stroke begins, the effectiveness of medication or surgery may be significantly diminished, and the damage to your brain can be irreversible.
Why Did You Wait for Stroke Treatment?
To prove that the hospital was negligent, it is not enough to establish that you or your loved one had to wait for treatment. Instead, you must prove that the wait was unreasonable, given all of the circumstances. Those circumstances include:
- Your symptoms
- How long you waited
- Why you waited
- The procedures used to assess your condition
- How many doctors and nurses were working at the time you got to the ER
- Whether a CT scan machine was available and ready for use
- How many other patients were in the emergency room—and the nature of their emergencies
After considering all of these factors, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can advise you about whether the delay in your care or the care of your loved one resulted in an injury that would not have otherwise been suffered. To recover damages, you must be able to prove that the injury for which you are seeking compensation was caused by the emergency room’s delay in care and not just because of the stroke.
Protect Your Recovery When Delayed Treatment Causes Injury or Death
If you believe you suffered brain damage or your loved one died because the ER failed to diagnose or treat your stroke promptly, you need to take action to protect your rights. This starts with contacting a Kentucky law firm with experience in delay in treating injuries. Our experienced lawyers and staff nurse can review all of your records and determine whether a delay in treatment caused you or your loved one to suffer an unnecessary injury.
Then, if you have a delay in treatment case, we will fight hard to protect your recovery of past and future:
- Medical costs, including all necessary physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology services as well as hospitalizations, surgeries, medications, doctors’ appointments, rehabilitation stays, and other healthcare expenses
- Lost income if you or your loved one was still working at the time of the stroke and can no longer earn the same income
- Out-of-pocket expenses including funeral costs, if applicable
- Physical pain and emotional suffering which may be significant and may have been avoided with prompt care
Nothing can undo the harm that’s been done by the unnecessary delay in stroke treatment, but, together, we can work to get you the financial recovery you deserve, hold the emergency room accountable, and protect future patients. Call us, or start a live chat with us now, to learn more.
Related Links: