Heart Attack: Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Coronary artery disease is the number one cause of death worldwide, and results in heart attacks that kill nearly half a million US residents every year. In order to prevent deaths from heart attack, it is important for doctors and hospitals to be very critical of patients showing signs of coronary artery disease and impending heart attack. Any failure on a doctors part to diagnose a potentially catastrophic heart disease which then leads to a heart attack may be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Heart Attack Diagnosis and Medical Negligence Lawsuits

1. What is Medical Negligence?
2. Should a Heart Attack Have Been Prevented?
3. Who Can File a Lawsuit?
4. What Happens if the Patient Dies?
5. How to Get Advice for a Medical Malpractice Claim
   

What is Medical Negligence?

Medical professionals such as doctors, nurses and other hospital staff have a legal duty to perform their jobs to a certain level of care. When a medical professional fails to meet this "accepted medical standard of care", medical negligence has occurred.

In order to establish medical negligence, it must be shown that, given the same situation, any other doctor or medical professional would have performed differently, and saved a patient from injury. For example, if one doctor failed to diagnose an impending heart attack in an admitted patient where any other doctor would likely have noticed the signs and taken preventative measures, then it is likely a case of medical negligence.

Should a Heart Attack Have Been Prevented?

If it is established that medical negligence lead to a heart attack, the next question is could the heart attack have been prevented. It is important, because if the heart attack indeed could have been prevented, but was not due to the negligent medical treatment, then the doctor may be held liable for the injury suffered by the patient.

Very much like a car accident, if one party is found to be at fault, they are legally responsible to pay for all the damage and associated costs they caused the other driver. Similarly, if a doctor, through negligent medical treatment, causes injury such as a heart attack, he or she is responsible to pay to make the victim "whole" again.

Who Can File a Suit Against a Doctor or Hospital?

If it can be established that a doctors negligent medical treatment lead to an otherwise preventable heart attack, then the injured party (the patient) has a legal right to pursue a claim for medical malpractice.

Time Limit for Filing a Malpractice Lawsuit

Every state has a statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. Most states time limits vary from 2-3 years of the injury, or discovery of the injury. In cases of heart attack, the time limit begins on the date the heart attack occurred.

Amount of Award or Settlement

Another factor to consider when thinking about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is the amount of money you expect to recover. In order to prosecute a medical malpractice lawsuit, your medical malpractice lawyer will need to spend tens of thousands of dollars investigating the case, and prosecuting your case. If the injury did not result in any significant economic damages, then it may cost more to file the suit than a successful award or settlement would recover.

In cases of heart attack, the injury is often so severe, that the settlement or award may be hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, so it's unlikely that the damages will be to little to merit a lawsuit.

What Happens if the Patient Dies?

In cases where a heart attack leads to the death of the patient, and medical negligence is the cause, the patients family members then have a right to sue the doctor, hospital or clinic not only for medical malpractice, but also for the wrongful death of a loved one.

In cases of wrongful death, the damages are difficult to quantify, but are often very large in terms of money awarded to the family. A medical malpractice lawyer will seeks compensation for the following damages on behalf of the family:

• Lost Income - If the patient was working, then the family members can seek compensation for all present and future lost income.
  
• Loss of Consortium - Loss of consortium os often given to the spouse, and is compensation for the loss of sexual relations.
  
• Pain and Suffering - Pain and suffering is hard to put a number on, but an attorney will seek compensation for the pain the death has caused the family members.
  
• Loss of Family Relations - Loss of a family member can be devastating to the fabric of a family, and damages for this are awarded separately.
  
• Medical and Funeral Expenses - All associated medical expenses must be covered, and all cost related to funeral and burial are also recovered.

How to Get Legal Advice Regarding Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice lawsuits are extraordinarily complicated, and should only be pursued by an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. Most specialized medical malpractice attorneys offer potential clients a free initial consultation, where they can listen to the details of the case and offer patients and/or family members legal advice, and guidance.

Anyone who has been caused injury, or lost a loved one due to medical malpractice should talk to a lawyer immediately, so that a case can be put together and a lawsuit filed before the statute of limitations runs out.