Emergency rooms in the Bronx are busy, often understaffed places ripe for medical errors. One of the common errors that New Yorkers may suffer is the misdiagnosis of a stroke, a mistake that can have far-reaching and even fatal consequences.
Why stroke gets misdiagnosed
Misdiagnosing a stroke is a prime reason leading to medical practice. Many times, doctors and other emergency personnel miss stroke symptoms that present primarily as bad headaches. Medical personnel often dismiss patients who have a history of severe migraine headaches, saying that their symptoms are consistent with what they have experienced in the past. Patients could be dismissed with no workups for possible stroke.
However, the timeline to effectively treat a stroke is small, so some patients suffer devastating effects. Even minutes can be important in preventing damage. Thus, emergency room personnel should ensure that they perform a CT scan or MRI to look for stroke and investigate the following symptoms:
- Numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg
- Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
- Difficulty seeing
- Difficulty walking or loss of balance
- Severe headache
Fighting medical negligence
Inexperience or lack of time is no excuse for medical negligence. When one or more medical professionals do not make the correct diagnosis, that action can make a permanent impact on your health or that of a loved one.
The amount of time between a stroke and a correct diagnosis is especially crucial as the person suffering the stroke can suffer extremely disabling consequence or possibly even pass away. If you suspect misdiagnosis of a stroke that led to serious harm, you or your loved one may be able to pursue a claim for compensation for expenses caused by the medical mistake.
