Whether it stems from a blood clot, a ruptured artery, or any other source, a stroke is a very serious and often life-threatening condition. Most licensed medical professionals can be trusted to spot this kind of problem soon after it starts presenting symptoms, correctly and quickly diagnose its root cause, and provide appropriate treatment to minimize long-term harm.
Unfortunately, some doctors fail to provide this “standard of care” to their patients and allow them to suffer serious injury as a result. When this is the case, a malpractice attorney can work to hold the negligent provider accountable for the consequences of their actions. If your stroke was not diagnosed in a timely fashion or otherwise was not handled properly by your doctors, do not hesitate to contact a Connecticut stroke misdiagnosis lawyer from Berkowitz and Hanna LLC. We are prepared to fight for what you deserve.
Healthcare practitioners in Connecticut are expected to act in accordance with their education, experience, and skills as professionals. This does not mean physicians are automatically legally liable for damages every time they fail to diagnose a stroke at the first available opportunity, but it does mean they can be held liable for failing to diagnose a stroke specifically because they acted in a way no other equally qualified doctor would have acted under the same circumstances.
This “standard of care” applies to everyone involved in a particular patient’s care, so a misdiagnosis that stems from the negligence of multiple medical professionals could lead to multiple people being held civilly liable for that error. Furthermore, hospitals and other healthcare facilities which employ negligent doctors can often be held vicariously liable for their employee’s misconduct, or even directly liable for failing to properly screen or supervise people they hire.
In order to successfully file suit against a doctor for a stroke misdiagnosis or for any other form of malpractice, the injured person by the error in question must go through what is known as a “reasonable inquiry” process. This entails speaking with at least one qualified medical expert about the potential claim and determining through their input that there are likely valid grounds to sue for malpractice based on a breach of the standard of care described above.
That expert must also be willing to sign a written statement under oath affirming their belief in the case’s merit. That statement, along with a certificate confirming that the plaintiff has gone through the reasonable inquiry process, must be submitted alongside the initial lawsuit filed with the court. Support from a knowledgeable lawyer can be especially important to getting through this stage of a Connecticut stroke misdiagnosis lawsuit as efficiently as possible.
Strokes can be immensely dangerous even if they are quickly identified and properly treated by qualified medical professionals. Doctors who negligently fail to do either of those things not only put their patients at risk of life-altering harm, but also open themselves and potentially their employers up to civil liability for the harm they have unjustly caused.
If you need to seek civil compensation for harm caused by a mishandled stroke, you will want help from a leading medical malpractice firm which has recovered over 400 million dollars on behalf of people just like you. Call Berkowitz and Hanna LLC today to speak with a Connecticut stroke misdiagnosis lawyer about your legal options.
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