The medical malpractice attorneys of Clark & Mitchell P.C. and their team are here to help you build your case that involves stroke, infection, and heart attack-related negligence. If a loved one has been injured or died due to medical wrongdoing, Clark & Mitchell P.C. will review your case and recover the damages you and your family deserve. We will uncover the truth of the negligence and hold all liable parties involved responsible.

Thus, allowing your family to have the satisfaction of knowing the negligent parties will be held accountable. The compensation you deserve will not be total recompense for the devastation that accompanies these types of injuries. Mistakes of this magnitude in a reputable field of practice should never happen in the first place. 

Here are some of the most common injuries that occur far too often and are unacceptable in any medical facility.

Strokes:

A stroke will change your life just as fast as it happened. Strokes can lead to a permanent disability, medical complications, financial burdens and affect your family member’s lives. A stroke occurs when the blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted or stopped altogether. Causing the brain cells to die from lack of oxygen resulting in tissue death and nerve damage.

There are protocols in place that are universal for the medical profession to follow as the standard of care. The commonly displayed symptoms allow for an early diagnosis and result in less damage to the brain. Suppose a patient obtains medical care within 3 hours of an ischemic stroke’s first symptoms.

In that case, they should receive a class of medication called antiplatelet therapy before receiving Intravenous Thrombolysis.

Thrombolytic therapy (a “clot-busting” drug) to break up blood clots. Commonly called (tPA) a Tissue plasminogen activator improves the chances of recovering from a stroke.

CT or MRI scans are performed to rule out or diagnose trauma to the brain. Clinicians are routinely monitoring for abnormally high blood pressure, blurred vision, slurred speech, problems with coordination, stiff muscles, overactive reflexes, or paralysis of one side of the body as a stroke diagnosis.

It is crucial to pinpoint a stroke when it is taking place.

Any of the above should alert you to go to the emergency room immediately. Up to 80 percent of strokes are preventable and treatable. Many stroke victims suffer unnecessary damaging effects from being misdiagnosed or being diagnosed too late.

You are entitled to compensation in a malpractice suit if the medical provider afflicted harm by wrong or late stroke diagnosis mismanagement.

In addition, facilitating the incorrect treatment or prescribing the wrong medication is unacceptable and makes them liable for negligent care of a patient.

In the medical oath to provide medical care to another being four legal elements must be adhered to:

1. A professional duty owed to the patient.
2. Breach of such duty.
3. Injury caused by the breach.
4. Resulting in damages

The law office of Clark & Mitchell will ensure you receive the representation you deserve. 

Infection: 

Another major complication in care is nosocomial infections. According to the Center for Disease Control, there are approximately 722,000 infections a year related to medical care; of the 2 million people afflicted with acquired infections, 90,000 will die. 

Nosocomial infections can be defined as those occurring within 48 hours of hospital admission, three days of discharge, or 30 days of an operation. They affect 1 in 10 patients admitted to the hospital. These include all infections developed over your stay in a medical facility not related to the condition for which the patient was admitted/diagnosed.

These infections developed while under medical care can lead to severe injury and even death. The overall cost after these hospital-acquired infections is 28 to 45 billion dollars per year. The contamination can result in lengthened stays and additional tests, resulting in medical bills skyrocketing. 

Patients deserve safe and effective care. We should trust that the chosen facility to get better is not the place they get worse due to the hospital staff. All medical personnel should be implementing the appropriate policies and procedures to ensure timely and successful recovery of all patients. Without strict sanitary guidelines and extensive bacterial testing, hospitals become the ideal spot for bacteria to grow. The constant influx of sick, germ and bacteria-carrying individuals can contribute considerably to introducing new strains of drug-resistant infective agents. 

The disturbing element is that hospital-acquired infections kill more people than breast cancer and AIDS combined. Even when not fatal, these infections can lead to partial or full paralysis. Some common strains of lethal bacteria found in hospitals include: 

● Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 

● Pseudomonas aeruginosa 

● Klebsiella pneumonia 

● Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) 

These bacterial infections can result in wrongful death and untold pain and suffering. The fact remains that most of these infections are easily preventable. If serious medical complications resulting from an infection you got at a hospital, you should take legal action immediately to seek compensation for your hardships. 

Heart Attack: 

Finally, the third on our list of the most common medical malpractice errors is myocardial infarction, otherwise, known as a heart attack. When a heart attack’s symptoms occur, most people go to an emergency entrusting their doctors, nurses, and all medical personnel to care for them properly. Obtain an accurate diagnose and treat their condition appropriately. Unfortunately, all too frequently, this is not the case. 

Common symptoms of a heart attack are: 

● Discomfort in the neck, jaw, or back

● Feelings of weakness and discomfort 

● Shortness of breath 

● Pain in the arms and shoulders 

● Discomfort and pain in the chest area 

These symptoms are experienced when the heart does not receive enough blood causing the cells to begin to die due to lack of oxygen. Immediate treatment must be obtained, or the ramifications can be permanent damage or death. All doctors and nurses in America have been trained to recognize a heart attack’s signs and symptoms. The standard of care universally is laboratory tests and EKGs, which can diagnose cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, people die needlessly every year because of inadequate medical care, resulting in a missed or improper diagnosis. 

Clark & Mitchell’s offices have represented many medical malpractice cases in which people were given medication for indigestion and were sent home where they died of a heart attack. The most common negligence resulting in myocardial infarction is that for hours the patient waits regardless of if it is in an ER or waiting to obtain care and are on their way in the ambulance and are in denial a long time until they collapsed.

According to the New England journal of medicine, women under 55 who went to the hospital with chest pain are misdiagnosed seven times more often than male patients.

Events such as these are tragic, inexcusable, and an example of gross medical negligence. Our country places all of our trust in the medical field to help us heal, and it is our job to make sure they continue to do their best to ensure our safety and health.

Medical malpractice is something you should never have to experience, but if you do, call the law offices Clark & Mitchell, and obtain the security you deserve for the representation that is owed to you as a victim.

Their legal community acknowledges our Oklahoma City medical malpractice lawyers as one of the most committed to serving seriously injured people. Based on the information we receive from you; we may be able to immediately tell you whether or not we can take your case. If your case has potential, we will schedule a free consultation. Contact us by phone at (405-235-8488) or email mackenzie@clarkmitchell.com to schedule a consultation today.