Cardiac Malpractice Injuries

Feb 21

Disease or injury to the heart can occur. These are two completely distinct things. Heart disease (and its complications) kills more people in the United States than any other disease. Separate from sickness, though, heart injury can impair and kill you. As a result, any problem with the heart should be taken seriously and treated as soon as possible with high-quality medical care.

Car accidents, other personal injury situations, and medical misconduct by healthcare personnel can all result in cardiac damage. A patient may be entitled to compensation if certain types of cardiac damage occur, especially if the injury is caused by carelessness. It's critical for folks who have suffered a heart injury to understand the many forms of cardiac injuries as well as the legal alternatives open to victims of negligence.

People who are at risk for heart problems should be advised and instructed on how to avoid them by their trusted doctors. Residents and patients in nursing homes and hospitals have faith that they will be looked after with the highest care and using safe, well-maintained equipment. This isn't always the case, however. Any breach of the standard of care that results in a cardiac damage should be investigated for the victim's personal injury claim.

Statistics On Cardiac Health In New York State

In New York State, heart disease is the leading cause of death, accounting for 35% of all deaths
In people under the age of 65, heart disease is the greatest cause of preventable mortality
In New York State, 7.8% of adults say they've experienced a heart attack or other sort of cardiovascular disease
Adults with disabilities have three times the risk of cardiovascular illness as adults without disabilities

Blunt Chest Trauma Causes Cardiac Injuries

Sudden deceleration accidents are commonly associated with blunt cardiac injuries that do not entail skin penetration, such as:

Automobile collisions at high speeds (particularly from airbags)
Falls
Injuries caused by crushing
Accidents in sports

A standard definition of blunt cardiac damage does not exist (BCI). In general, these are situations in which a person is hurt as a result of a moving object colliding with the heart's regions. That is, anything violently colliding with the victim's chest or, in certain situations, their back. This sort of injury can range in severity from moderate to severe, and can include:

The aorta bursts
Concussions of the heart (bruised area on the heart)
The wall of the ventricle ruptures

The following are some of the most common signs and symptoms, which will vary depending on the severity of the injury:

Pain in the chest
Deformities of the chest wall
Breathing problems
Dysrhythmia is a type of irregular heartbeat (abnormal heart rhythm)
Vomiting and nausea
Coughing blood

These types of injuries can harm the heart's structure and impede its function. Unfortunately, this form of trauma might go unnoticed or be identified years after the initial injury, leading to poorer outcomes.

Autopsies of victims of traffic-related deaths reveal signs of cardiac trauma in about 20% of cases. A cardiac damage affects 15% of all blunt chest trauma sufferers, according to estimates.

According to studies, these types of injuries may not cause symptoms for up to 48 hours following the impact. Symptoms of cardiac contusion, for example, have been observed to appear anywhere from one week to a month after the injury. While left alone, wounded, and untreated, the heart may endure necrosis (tissue death), inflammation, or other dangerous alterations, worsening the situation.

Patients diagnosed with heart damage as a result of acute chest trauma may find it difficult to submit a claim for their injuries based on these results. It's a good idea to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer, especially if there were no symptoms after the accident.

Nursing Home Cardiac Injuries

Nursing facilities have a greater prevalence of heart attacks than the general population. Normally, this would imply that nursing homes should have a better standard of care in order to efficiently treat recurring heart attacks, but this isn't always the case. If a nursing home resident dies or suffers as a result of the nursing home's failure to offer emergency care, the individual's family can seek compensation from the nursing home with the help of a heart attack lawyer.

Heart disease is more common in the elderly than in the younger population. Other health problems that might lead to heart attacks are common among nursing home residents, including:

Clots in the blood
Problems with coagulation
Strokes in the past

Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect

Heart attacks can occur naturally as well as as a result of poor nursing home care. Negligent or abusive behavior on the part of nursing home employees can exacerbate pre-existing conditions or a resident's decreasing health. The following are examples of nursing home carelessness that might result in cardiac injury:

Extreme temperature changes can contribute to the development of a heart attack. A nursing home could be held accountable for a resident's health issues worsening due to a lack of sufficient temperature management.
Medication errors include overmedicating or undermedicating, giving the wrong medicine, waiting too long between doses, giving expired medication, and not following the manufacturer's storage and handling instructions.
Abuse of any kind, including physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, can cause a heart attack.

In the event of a nursing home heart attack, an experienced heart attack lawyer can assist in investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and determining whether the nursing home may be held liable in court.

Medical Malpractice Causes Cardiac Injuries

Cardiac surgery is a life-threatening procedure. Even the tiniest medical error prior to, during, or after heart surgery can have serious consequences for the patient. Injuries ranging from minor illnesses to wrongful death can be caused by a lack of quality medical care.

Cardiac Malpractice Surgical Errors

There are a few frequent cardiac procedure errors that medical practitioners can make:

Using the incorrect dose of anesthetic
Failure to follow up with the patient after the treatment and watch for problems
Unnecessarily performing a surgery on a patient
Failure to remove devices safely/leaving foreign items in the body of the patient Using faulty or low-quality equipment that causes difficulties

Doctors are accountable for providing their patients with high-quality care. The patient or their families can sue for cardiac malpractice if it can be established that a medical staff member was negligent.

Commonly Associated With Cardiac Malpractice Procedures

Cardiac ablation is a treatment in which a flexible tube is inserted into a vein or artery to eliminate tissues that cause an erratic pulse. Complications from this treatment that could have been avoided include:

Bleeding that is uncontrolled
Infection at the insertion site
Damage to the heart valves
Lacerations and puncture wounds are common
Blood clots in the legs or lungs are very common
The dye used during ablation causes kidney injury
The diaphragm is paralyzed

Angioplasty is a procedure in which a catheter is used to inflate an artery and remove a plaque blockage with the use of radioactive dye. Despite the fact that it is considered a normal treatment, the following issues can occur:

Clots in the blood
Radioactive dye causes kidney issues.
Internal hemorrhage
Damage to the arteries
Plaque discharge (patients can develop permanent disabilities if a surgeon releases plaque into the surrounding arteries)

Many people require numerous operations and treatments to improve their health after angioplasty problems.

A clogged artery is replaced with a healthy one during coronary artery bypass surgery. The heart of the patient is either stopped with medicine and connected to a heart-lung machine, or it is operated on using specialized equipment.

For the patient, mistakes during heart surgery can result in the following:

Infection
Damage to the brain
Surprising strokes
Permanent impairments
Death

An expert attorney will know what to look for in a case to evaluate if a cardiac injury was caused by malpractice or was just an unforeseen accident that a doctor could not have reasonably anticipated or avoided.

Heart Condition Misdiagnosis

Aside from mistakes occurring during heart surgery, there are additional types of cardiac malpractice lawsuits. When a clinician fails to prevent, screen for, report, or treat an at-risk patient's cardiac condition, it is considered malpractice. Doctors should keep a close eye on any patients who are at risk for heart disease. The following are well-known risk factors:

Hypertension is a condition in which the blood pressure (high blood pressure)
Cholesterol levels are high.
Heart disease runs in the family
Stressful way of life
Obesity
Smoking

If someone with these risk factors has a heart attack and has not been counseled by their doctor on how to prevent heart disease, he or she may be able to pursue a medical negligence claim. Doctors who fail to treat heart issues properly, resulting in a cardiac event, should be held accountable and investigated by a medical malpractice attorney with experience.

Bringing A Cardiac Injury Lawsuit

The amount of time you have to file a lawsuit is determined by the circumstances surrounding the cardiac injury. In New York, the statute of limitations for any personal injury is three years. For example, if someone's negligence directly caused another's injuries in a car accident or a fall, the wounded victim has three years from the date of the incident to file a notice of claim.

For medical malpractice, the statute of limitations is different. A patient has two years and six months to file a lawsuit from the date of malpractice or the termination of continuous treatment for a specific condition. This protects patients who were treated by a negligent doctor (via follow-ups, additional treatment, etc.) even if they continued to see the doctor who damaged them unintentionally.

If a victim is killed in a wrongful death accident, the victim's family or estate has two years from the date of the victim's death to file a lawsuit. They may be entitled to the following damages:

Expenses for the funeral and burial
Health-care costs
Loss of companionship or loss of consortium
So long as it can be established that the dead gave financial support, there is no loss of support.
Damages that are not monetary in nature, such as grief and suffering