Stroke  - Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyer: Sean M. Cleary

Stroke Following Misdiagnosis in Miami

As the leading cause of disability, stroke affects over 700,000 people throughout the U.S. every year, approximately 500,000 of which experience it for the first time, while the remaining 200,000 are recurrent cases. In Florida, a stroke claims the life of someone every 3 seconds.

Over 4 million Americans are stroke survivors, currently struggling with the health effects of the condition. Moreover, 14% of survivors will experience another stroke within a year. Strokes can occur at any age, being the third leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease and cancer. However, the death rate and disability can be reduced by 30% if the signs of stroke are immediately recognized and treated.

Stroke Cases We Handle & Investigate in Miami & Florida

Whether you or a loved one experienced a stroke as a consequence of misdiagnosis or another medical error in Miami or in another part of Florida, you should know that financial compensation is available for you and can efficiently be recovered from the party at fault by our law firm, which specializes in this type of cases. Contact us and we will gladly review your situation free of charge. The stroke cases we pursue include the following:

• Stroke misdiagnosis: Because the symptoms of a stroke can resemble those of numerous other conditions, medical professionals overlook it quite frequently, mistaking it for something completely unrelated and treating it accordingly. For instance, the signs of a stroke are similar to those of food poisoning – headache, difficulty walking, as well as inability to speak clearly.
• Delayed stroke treatment: If a stroke is not attended to immediately by a medical team, it can render the sufferer unable to perform basic daily activities, as they will end up having permanent brain damage. Unfortunately, not few are the cases when the medical team fails to promptly treat a stroke, which results in the person who experienced it disabled for life.
• Misinterpreted CT scan in a stroke: There are situations when the patient arrives at the hospital with clear signs of a stroke and the medical professionals decide to examine their brain using a CT scan. However, the results of the test, which will undoubtedly show abnormalities, are misinterpreted as another condition and the patient is told they do not experience anything life-threatening. As a consequence, the stroke will be left untreated and will run its course, while the patient will suffer major brain damage.
• Wrong medication for a stroke: This closely relates to misdiagnosis, as people who are suffering a stroke may be prescribed wrong medication as a result of the medical professional failing to identify the cause of their symptoms. Therefore, the patient will be given medication that will do nothing to treat their stroke and they will come to experience irreversible brain damage.
• Pediatric stroke: As stated above, stroke does not discriminate and can thus occur in people of any age, including children. Nevertheless, because stroke tends to be associated with adults, doctors may once again misdiagnose it as a non-life-threatening condition such as moyamoya, a disease that causes occlusion of the carotid arteries. This is another type of stroke case our law firm handles.
• Unrecognized transient ischemic attack (TIA): Also known as a ministroke, a transient ischemic attack takes place similarly to a stroke, the patient displaying the same symptoms. While not as dangerous as a stroke per se, 1 in 3 people who had a transient ischemic attack will eventually experience a stroke if not treated properly.
• Childbirth stroke: During the period after delivering a baby, women are the most prone to go through a stroke, as there is a greater risk for blood clots to develop in the arteries and reach the brain. When the medical team fails to recognize the warning signs of childbirth stroke and the patient suffers one, she can recover financial compensation with the assistance of our attorney.

Signs & Symptoms of Stroke: Seek Medical Attention Immediately

As stroke is a major cause of disability, it will inevitably end up with you suffering brain damage. Consequently, you should immediately seek medical attention if you notice one or more of the signs and symptoms below. If, however, you experience a stroke because of someone else’s negligence, do not hesitate to contact our law firm so that we will be able to review your case and help you take legal action against the liable party.

• Difficulty speaking and understanding what other people are saying
• Paralysis of the face or upper body
• Headache
• Trouble walking normally
• Confusion
• Blurred or blackened vision in one or both eyes

Long-Term Effects of a Stroke on Survivors and Families

Following a stroke that was not promptly attended to or which was not treated at all, the patient will experience several of these symptoms, which are related to brain damage:

• Vision problems
• Shoulder pain
• Difficulty swallowing
• Speech impairments
• Cognitive impairments
• Claw-toe and hammertoe
• Poor balance
• Weakness
• Incontinence
• Flaccidity
• Poor motor skills
• Fatigue
• Paralysis on one or both sides of the body
• Paraplegia
• Quadriplegia

The impact of a stroke on family members can be very heavy since the survivor’s health quality will often be poor. Their loved ones may experience depression and shock, as well as feelings of confusion, helplessness, and guilt. Role changes may also occur – for instance, children will have to be the caregiver of a parent who suffered a stroke and is now disabled.

What Can You Recover After a Stroke?

We strongly encourage people whose health was affected by a stroke or their family members to reach out to our attorney, as they are eligible for the financial compensation which can cover aspects such as:

• Repayment of past medical bills
• Payment for future medical costs
• Lost past and future wages
• Home care and monitoring
• Rehabilitation to recover from stroke
• Physical and emotional pain and suffering

If the person who had a stroke passed away, we can also help you pursue a wrongful death case and recover the following:

• Lost companionship
• Funeral expenses
• Medical costs which were incurred before the death of the victim

How Can The Law Offices of Sean M. Cleary Help You in a Stroke Case?

We only charge contingency fees, which means you will not have to pay anything unless we are successful in recovering financial compensation for you. If we obtain compensation from the defendant, we will keep between 34% and 40% of the total sum of money you are to receive in exchange for our legal services.