Stroke Misdiagnosis Lawyer in Florida
If a medical professional misdiagnoses a stroke, the patient may suffer severe consequences, such as brain damage or even death. Contact Freedland Harwin Valori Gander’s stroke misdiagnosis lawyers in Florida to see if you can file a medical malpractice claim relating to a stroke. A successful medical malpractice claim may compensate you for losses resulting from a stroke misdiagnosis, such as medical expenses and pain and suffering.
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by Daniel Harwin
- Content last updated on:
- November 15, 2024
Strokes are potentially life-threatening events where a vessel or blood clot rupture leads to the sudden loss of blood to a part of the brain. Stroke misdiagnoses are more common in the United States than you may think—approximately 1.2 percent to 12.7 percent of all hospital stroke admissions experienced stroke misdiagnosis in the emergency department.
When medical professionals fail to diagnose or treat a stroke promptly, it robs patients of that small window of opportunity to prevent brain damage or death.
If you or a loved one has suffered harm from a stroke misdiagnosis, Freedland Harwin Valori Gander can help. Our stroke misdiagnosis lawyers in Florida can analyze your claim, determine your options, and pursue the financial compensation you deserve for your losses. Contact us today to book a free consultation and get legal advice.
What Is Stroke Misdiagnosis?
A stroke misdiagnosis happens when doctors fail to recognize the signs of a stroke while or after it occurs. Because a stroke involves severely reduced or interrupted blood flow to the brain, a misdiagnosis can lead to brain damage. If a patient has a stroke but does not receive a timely diagnosis, they may miss out on important treatment to prevent this damage.
Misdiagnosis can cause stroke patients to pass away, but some survive and suffer from life-long disabilities. This can put a heavy financial burden on families. Fortunately, people and families affected by stroke misdiagnosis may be eligible to file a lawsuit for compensation if the misdiagnosis results from medical malpractice. Stroke victims can prove medical malpractice if:
- The treatment did not meet the standard of care, meaning the provider did not act as a reasonably prudent provider would have done in the same circumstances.
- The patient suffered injuries or losses, such as brain damage or medical expenses, due to health care provider’s negligence.
- The injury resulted in damages such as medical bills, pain and suffering, disability, or loss of income.
If you suspect a stroke misdiagnosis has harmed you or a loved one, immediately contact Freedland Harwin Valori Gander’s Florida medical malpractice lawyers. Each state has a statute of limitations that sets a deadline for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. If you miss that deadline, you lose your right to pursue compensation for your losses.
Florida’s statute of limitations for filing a stroke misdiagnosis claim is only two years from the date the misdiagnosis occurred or the date you should have discovered the misdiagnosis.
Even if there was a delay in discovering the malpractice, you still only have four years from the incident date to file. However, if the health care provider’s intentional misrepresentation, fraud, or concealment prevents you from discovering the misdiagnosis, you have seven years from the incident date to file your claim.
Recognizing Stroke Symptoms
When someone has a stroke, medical practitioners should be able to identify the symptoms as soon as possible. Fast treatment can minimize the brain damage caused by stroke. Common stroke symptoms include:
- Tingling on one side of the body
- Numbness
- Difficulty speaking
- Difficulty walking
- Balance issues
- Vision problems
- Loss of coordination
- Migraines
- Confusion
Recognizing these symptoms can get you the critical medical treatment you need to prevent severe consequences, including brain damage. There is a well-known saying in stroke neurology that “time is brain,” meaning that human nervous tissue is lost rapidly as the stroke progresses, and emergent therapy is important.
Unfortunately, doctors do not always spot stroke symptoms on time. The following symptoms can contribute to the misdiagnosis of a stroke:
- Atypical symptoms: Not every stroke has the classic symptoms of difficulty speaking, numbness, or sudden weakness. As such, health care providers may not immediately recognize strokes with atypical symptoms, leading to a misdiagnosis.
- Mistaken for other conditions: Stroke symptoms may overlap with signs of other medical conditions, such as seizures, migraines, and transient ischemic attacks. When this happens, health care providers may misdiagnose the patient with another condition, delaying stroke diagnosis and treatment.
- Patient factors: Patients may downplay or inaccurately report their symptoms, which can lead to misdiagnosis.
- Diagnostic errors: Errors in interpreting MRI tests, CT scans, and other imaging tests can cause a stroke to be misdiagnosed.
If you experienced stroke symptoms, but your health care providers failed to diagnose you with a stroke, documentation of these symptoms serves as critical evidence in a stroke misdiagnosis lawsuit. In such a suit, you must do the following:
- Establish liability: In a medical malpractice lawsuit, you must prove the health care provider was negligent in diagnosing and treating your stroke. If you have doctors’ notes or reports proving your doctor noticed your symptoms but failed to diagnose you with a stroke when other doctors with the same amount of experience in the same situation would have, you would have a strong medical malpractice case against the doctor.
- Prove causation: You and your lawyer must link the stroke misdiagnosis to the harms and losses you suffered.
Types of Strokes
There are two types of strokes: ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes.
An ischemic stroke happens when the blood supply is cut off, preventing part of the brain from receiving nutrients and oxygen. Brain cells start to die within minutes. On the other hand, hemorrhagic strokes happen due to uncontrolled bleeding inside the brain or in the space between the brain and its covering layer. These types of strokes are particularly severe and can occur and worsen quickly.
Sometimes ischemic strokes can initially present as transient ischemic attacks (TIA) which is a temporary period of symptoms similar to those of a stroke. They are sometimes called a ministroke, and they can be a warning or harbinger of a future stroke. They require an appropriate work-up to determine the cause before a permanent stroke occurs. The misdiagnosis lawyers at FHVG have handled numerous cases of victims who presented to healthcare providers with a TIA that were not appropriately treated.
Failure to diagnose and treat both types of strokes can lead to life-long disabilities such as paralysis and difficulty speaking. Contact us to learn more about untreated stroke disabilities and their roles in a legal claim.
How the Stroke Misdiagnosis Lawyers at Freedland Harwin Valori Gander Can Assist You
Although you can file a stroke misdiagnosis lawsuit by yourself, you should hire a stroke misdiagnosis attorney to help you. The right medical misdiagnosis attorney can advance your case by:
- Building a strong claim: Your attorney can investigate your case and gather evidence such as doctors’ reports and witness testimony.
- Consulting with experts: To prove your claim, you will need a medical expert to review your medical records and provide an opinion on whether your health care providers breached their duty of care. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer will have access to a nationwide network of qualified experts.
- Filing your paperwork: Your lawyer can file your paperwork on time to protect your right to seek compensation.
- Negotiating on your behalf: After filing your paperwork, your lawyer can negotiate with insurance companies and the other parties for maximum compensation.
- Representing you in court: If the opposing side refuses to settle, your attorney can fight for your rights in court.
Freedland Harwin Valori Gander’s Florida lawyers have an impressive track record of settlement and trial verdicts, including the following:
- A $24.5 million jury verdict for the family of a 34-year-old woman who bled to death during childbirth
- A $ 20.2 million jury verdict for the family of a 54-year-old man who died in the hospital due to a narcotic overdose
- A $15.2 million arbitration award for a woman who suffered a stroke after childbirth and remains in a minimally conscious state
- A $10 million settlement for a middle-aged man who suffered a brain injury due to his doctors’ failure to follow proper safety protocols
- A 2.5 million settlement for failure to timely diagnose and treat a stroke that led to partial paralysis and severe aphasia
If your lawsuit succeeds, you and your family can receive financial compensation for economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are objectively verifiable losses such as medical bills, lost wages, and therapy fees, while non-economic damages are subjective losses such as pain and suffering and decreased quality of life.
Failure To Diagnose and Treat Stroke FAQs
Is There a Time Limit for Filing a Stroke Misdiagnosis Lawsuit in Florida?
Yes, the time limit—known as the statute of limitations—for filing a stroke misdiagnosis lawsuit in Florida is two years, up to four years if the injury was not immediately discoverable, and seven years for cases involving intentional misrepresentation, fraud, or concealment by a health care provider. An experienced Freedland Harwin Valori Gander’s Fort Lauderdale, Florida, lawyer can help you meet the applicable deadline.
Can I File a Lawsuit if My Family Member Died Due to Misdiagnosis of Stroke?
Yes, you can file a wrongful death lawsuit if your family member died due to a stroke misdiagnosis. A wrongful death lawsuit provides compensation and justice for the family members of a person who died due to the negligence of another party. Talk to Freedland Harwin Valori Gander’s skilled attorneys to learn more about filing a lawsuit.
I Signed a Consent Form Before Receiving Medical Treatment. Can I Still File a Stroke Misdiagnosis Lawsuit?
Yes, you can still file a stroke misdiagnosis lawsuit if you signed a consent form before receiving medical treatment. A consent form does not waive the hospital’s or doctor’s malpractice liability or eliminate the option of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
What Types of Compensation Can I Seek in a Stroke Negligence Lawsuit?
Your lawyer can help you seek the following types of compensation in a successful stroke negligence lawsuit:
- Economic damages covering your objective, verifiable losses such as lost wages, lost earning capacity, and medical bills
- Non-economic damages covering the harder-to-quantify impacts on your life, such as pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life or activities
Strokes can sometimes cause devasting injuries that require significant future medical expenses to care for the injured victims. Our stroke misdiagnosis lawyers have experience in understanding these types of injuries and make sure we take these future economic needs into account when preparing your claim.
Book a consultation with a Freedland Harwin Valori Gander medical misdiagnosis attorney to learn more about the compensation you can receive in a stroke negligence lawsuit.
How Can I Prove Medical Malpractice in a Failure To Diagnose Stroke Case?
You or your lawyer can prove medical malpractice in a failure to diagnose stroke case by producing evidence showing:
- The medical provider breached the standard of care. The standard of care refers to what a similar and reasonably prudent provider would do in the same circumstances.
- There was a direct causal link between the hospital’s or medical professional’s breach of the standard of care and the harm you suffered.
- You suffered losses and expenses due to your injuries.
What Steps Should I Take if I Suspect I Have Been a Victim of Stroke Misdiagnosis?
If you suspect you have been a victim of stroke misdiagnosis, follow these steps:
- Seek medical attention. Talk to your primary care physician about your concerns. Your doctor will conduct and order tests to determine whether a stroke misdiagnosis has harmed you.
- Talk to a stroke negligence lawyer. They can thoroughly analyze your case to determine whether you can file a lawsuit against the responsible hospital or medical professional.
- If you are eligible to file a stroke misdiagnosis lawsuit, your attorney can help you build a strong case and file your paperwork. They can also handle negotiations on your behalf so you can focus on resting and recovering.
- If the other party refuses to settle for a reasonable amount, your lawyer can explain the pros and cons of going to court. If you take your case to court, your attorney can use their skills to fight for your rights before a jury or judge. Successful trial verdicts can result in higher damages than settlement amounts, but unsuccessful verdicts may result in no compensation.
Book a consultation with Freedland Harwin Valori Gander to learn more about your next steps.
Get Help from the Experienced Team at Freedland Harwin Valori Gander
A stroke misdiagnosis can cause paralysis, difficulty speaking, and even death. Medical costs associated with stroke misdiagnoses are often high, especially those not covered by insurance.
That’s where Freedland Harwin Valori Gander comes in. Our skilled lawyers can use their legal research, negotiation, and courtroom skills to secure recovery of your past and future medical bills, lost wages, physical pain, emotional suffering, or funeral and other expenses if a loved one has died.
Our lawyers are committed to justice and compassionate representation and have recovered over $2.6 billion for our clients. Check out our frequently asked questions and testimonials to learn how we can help you secure compensation for your stroke misdiagnosis.
If you suspect medical malpractice, put our 20-plus years of experience to work for you by contacting us online or calling us at (954) 289-5386 for a free consultation.
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ALL FIELDS REQUIRED
- ANESTHESIA & PACU ERRORS
- BIRTH TRAUMA
- EMERGENCY ROOM MISTAKES
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE OR MISDIAGNOSIS – CANCER
- FAILURE OR DELAY IN DIAGNOSIS OF SEPSIS
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT GESTATIONAL DIABETES
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE BREAST CANCER
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE HEART ATTACK
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE OR TREAT AORTIC DISSECTION
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE PNEUMONIA
- FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE PULMONARY EMBOLISM
- FAILURE TO TREAT STROKE
- HOSPITAL MALPRACTICE
- INTRAVENOUS INFILTRATION
- MEDICATION ERRORS
- MEDICATION OVERDOSE
- MISDIAGNOSIS
- NEGLIGENT FETAL MONITORING
- OB/GYN ERRORS
- PLASTIC SURGERY ERRORS
- PREOPERATIVE CLEARANCE ERROR
- RADIOLOGY ERRORS
- SPINE SURGERY MISTAKES
- STILLBIRTH & MISCARRIAGE MALPRACTICE
- SURGERY CENTER ERRORS
- SURGICAL ERRORS
- TYPES OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWSUITS
CASE RESULTS
TESTIMONIALS
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