Freehold, NJ Medical Malpractice Lawyer Helps Victims of Heart Attack Misdiagnosis Pursue Justice

When you have a medical emergency that requires a trip to the emergency room, you depend on doctors and emergency room staff to properly diagnose your condition. If a heart attack is misdiagnosed, it cannot be properly treated. In particular, women and young people are at great risk of misdiagnosis because they do not fit the profile of heart attack victims.

If the physician’s treatment fell below a certain standard of care, you may have a claim for medical negligence. Specifically, a physician may be liable for a misdiagnosis of a heart attack. Even if your doctor performed tests, they may have misinterpreted the results of the tests. Additionally, medical negligence in the emergency room can cause a person suffering from a heart attack to be sent home without having received necessary treatment.

If you’ve been injured as a result of a misdiagnosis of a heart attack, you need experienced medical malpractice lawyers who will do everything in their power to ensure that your legal rights are protected and that you get the compensation you deserve.

New Jersey Emergency Room Doctors Must Follow Heart Attack Protocols

A heart attack, also known as an acute myocardial infarction, occurs when the blood flow to the heart is severely reduced or blocked, thus depriving the heart of oxygen that it needs to function.

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the leading cause of death in New Jersey. In the United States, someone suffers a heart attack every 34 seconds. Although some heart attacks are unavoidable, many could have been prevented or better treated with an accurate diagnosis. Researchers from the New England Medical Center reported that one out of every 50 heart attack victims is mistakenly sent home by an emergency room doctor who fails to diagnose the true condition.

Doctors need to be on the lookout for the early warning signs of a heart attack, which can include chest pain, shortness of breath, feeling physically weak, dizziness, nausea, and anxiety. If your doctor ignores these warning signs, you could be at greater risk of suffering a debilitating heart attack.

Therefore it is imperative that your physician follow protocols to rule out a heart attack before sending you home. These protocols include:

• Conducting a complete physical exam and ordering the proper tests for a heart attack, including electrocardiogram testing (EKG) and cardiac enzyme testing
• Correctly reading and interpreting the results of electrocardiogram testing (EKG) or cardiac marker testing
• Consulting cardiac specialists if the doctor is unsure about the diagnosis
• Not dismissing the patient’s complaints about obvious symptoms
• Taking steps to avoid failing to monitor a patient closely enough
• Not ignoring the patient’s medical history
• Taking the time to examine all medical possibilities in the patient’s case
• Following up with the patient

Anesthesia errors can also cause a heart attack. If an anesthesiologist administers the wrong amount of anesthesia, the patient could suffer a heart attack or stroke.

Talk to Lombardi and Lombardi, P.A. Today because We Will Hold NJ Doctors Accountable for Misdiagnosing Your Heart Attack

Medical malpractice law in New Jersey is extremely complicated. Prior to filing a medical negligence claim, a patient must obtain a certificate of merit from a physician in the same specialty as the allegedly negligent doctor. Our experienced medical malpractice lawyers can help you obtain a certificate of merit before commencing a legal action.

The skilled medical malpractice team of Lombardi and Lombardi, P.A., has helped countless personal injury and medical malpractice victims throughout New Jersey, including in Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex counties. Call us anytime at 732-906-1500 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation at our Brick, NJ office.