A cardiologist is a specialist that focuses their time and study in every aspect of the heart’s health. They study every disorder and function associated with a person’s heart. They diagnose heart conditions, they provide treatments for any heart diseases, and they oversee a patient’s overall heart health. When a cardiologist’s level of care falls below the standard of care that they are required to give to every one of their patients in every aspect of treatment, skill, knowledge, and overall care, a patient can get severely injured and even be the reason for a patient’s wrongful death.
Even the most skilled cardiologist is human and can commit irreversible mistakes with a person’s heart. Although they are specifically trained and study for every feature of a heart, they are always susceptible to make errors. These irreversible errors can affect the victim and their family their entire lives. The Miami Cardiologist Malpractice lawyers at Percy Martinez Law Firm are dedicated to serving each victim of a cardiologist’s mistake and seek to recover the most amount of compensation possible.
What Types of Medical Malpractice Do Cardiologists Perform?
A cardiologist can perform various negligence’s that can lead to a patient’s injury or death. When this happens, the cardiologist can be held accountable for the patient’s injuries because they lacked the skill and effort in administering treatment or providing care. These are the following errors that a cardiologist can do that can lead to a lawsuit:
Failing to diagnose a stroke or heart attack
Suffering a heart attack and stroke are quite common in the United States. In fact, heart disease is the top killer amongst Americans. When a cardiologist fails to recognize that a patient is displaying signs and symptoms of a stroke or heart attack, it could mean the patient’s end is near. How could a cardiologist who specializes in heart diseases not be able to diagnose the most common occurrences with hearts? Well, unfortunately, cardiologist make mistakes like anybody else.
Not documenting medical findings
There are times when a medical professional will not document medical findings due to negligence. A cardiologist is required to mark down every finding they encounter from a person’s test results. When they fail to do so, certain treatments might even affect the patient in a negative way because of a certain condition that they had prior to the treatment.
Failing to diagnose a heart condition
When a heart condition is not diagnosed that would have been diagnosed by another cardiologist, the specialist that did not diagnose the condition will be held liable for any consequence that the patient suffers by the doctor’s mistake. Ensuring that all tests are ordered and a patient’s medical history is reviewed helps a cardiologist diagnose any heart condition that a person might have.
Not properly reading Stress and EKG results
Stress tests and EKG are usually performed when a cardiologist suspects that a person might have a heart condition. When a cardiologist misinterprets the results of any of these tests, he or she might dismiss the patient as being healthy, instead of having a heart disease.
Prescribing the wrong medication
Most medications have side effects. When a person has a heart condition, the medical professional prescribing him or her medication needs to make sure that the medication they are prescribing the individual will not affect their heart condition any further.
Which Tests Do Cardiologists Perform on Their Patients?
In order to discover a heart condition, cardiologist performs different types of tests. Some tests are specifically administered to diagnose a certain heart disease. Some of those tests include:
- Stress Tests
- Bloodwork Tests
- Catheterization
- MRI’s
- Biopsies, and
- More
Different Types of Heart Diseases
The following are heart diseases that a person can suffer from that could go undiagnosed and even improperly treat it.
- Angina
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Heart Failure
- Heart Attacks
- Peripheral Arterial Disease
- Arrhythmia, and
- More
Cardiologist Malpractice Statistics
The following data are statistical facts revolving around a cardiologist’s mistakes.
- 25% of mistakes involve a wrong diagnosis, a delayed diagnosis, or a failure to diagnose
- 14% of mistakes involve improperly administering treatment
- 11% of the cases involve improper surgery performance
- 12% of the cases involve improper treatment procedure
- 6% of cases involve improper medication administration
Cardiologist Malpractice Case Settlements
Failure to Diagnose
The family of a man was awarded $3 million after his wrongful death. The cardiologist failed to diagnose a heart condition when it was clearly visible in the tests results. He lacked attention and care towards the patient.
Wrongful Death
The family of a 34-year old woman was awarded $10.8 million after she died from a cardiac catheterization. The cardiologist did not provide the adequate treatment for her heart disease which ultimately led to her death in 2011.
Failure to Treat
In 2011, a cardiologist and primary care doctor settled at $1.74 after they failed to diagnose and treat a patient’s chest pains. They disregarded the patient’s signs and symptoms which led to the man’s death. They misread test results and concluded that it was normal.
Miami Cardiologist Medical Malpractice Attorneys Here to Serve
When a cardiologist fails to perform or performs inadequately, a patient could endure serious consequences. The family of the victim was expecting their loved one to get better with the help of a cardiologist but instead got worse in their care. How is that possible? It happens more often than many would imagine. The victim and their families need to work alongside a Miami Attorney located at Percy Martinez Law Firm who focuses on cardiologist medical malpractice. They are there to serve and those who seek their professional and moral support.
RELATED TYPES OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
RELATED SERVICES OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
- Anesthesia Mistakes
- Plastic surgery malpractice
- Erbs Palsy
- Brain Injury
- Nursing Home
- Hospital Negligence
- Emergency Room
- Birth Injury
- Amputation Malpractice
Locations we serve