Atlanta Heart Attack Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Trusting a medical professional performs his or her duties with the utmost care of your wellbeing in mind should not have to be questioned. However, when an accident caused by negligence occurs, you could hold these medical professionals accountable depending on your injury and its cause. After a doctor, nurse, surgeon, or other medical professional causes your heart attack, an Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer could help you recover the compensation you need to address future woes. Reach out to a team of attorneys who could assess your case with the perspective of an in-house medical professional and present new findings with cutting edge technology.
What are the Common Signs of a Heart Attack in Atlanta?
The most common signs and symptoms of a heart attack are chest discomfort and/or pain lasting for more than a few minutes. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, in the back or neck or in the jaw, shortness of breath, and sometimes nausea or lightheadedness are all common signs.
After noticing the symptoms, a person should call 911 and seek medical care immediately. Even if people are not sure that they are having a heart attack, it is important to get immediate medical care to make sure that they are not or if they are to receive treatment.
Illnesses and Diseases with Similar Symptoms
There are other diseases or illnesses with similar symptoms. Musculoskeletal pain and some panic disorders mimic some of the symptoms. There are some other serious conditions like aortic dissection or blood clots that present with similar symptoms. Reflux disease or gastroesophageal reflux could have some similar symptoms of heart attacks.
Steps Medical Professionals Should Take to Diagnose
To diagnose these symptoms, a medical professional should perform a thorough exam of the patient, take vital signs such as blood pressure and temperature, and then run certain tests to see if the patient is experiencing a heart attack.
To diagnose a heart attack, a lot of times patients are hooked up to a heart monitor and the test is performed to see if they are having a heart attack. This involves an electrocardiogram, which records the electrical activity of the heart. There are also blood tests that could be done. There are certain enzymes that show up in blood test when they are having a heart attack. Depending on the results of the electrocardiogram and blood tests, medical professionals could do a chest X-ray and echocardiogram. They might have to perform or exercise a breath test or a cardiac or coronary catheterization.
Is a Heart Attack Treatable?
A heart attack could be treated, and the sooner the better because restoring blood flow quickly could help prevent damage. Heart attacks are a type of situation where every second counts. Medications such as blood thinners could be given to dissolve the blood clot and help the blood flow better to the heart. There are also surgical procedures that could be performed if necessary, such as angioplasty stenting or a bypass surgery.
Compensation Available in an Atlanta Heart Attack Medical Malpractice Case
In terms of legal damages available, a person would have physical pain and suffering, mental pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of capacity to work, loss of consortium, and medical costs. In the most severe cases, wrongful death, funeral, and burial expenses could be recovered. For any of these situations, victims or surviving family of a victim should consider working with an Atlanta heart attack medical malpractice lawyer. However, it is important for victims or the family of victims to understand that there is generally a two-year statute of limitations applied to cases like these.
There are limited exceptions. There are different timelines for foreign objects left in the body. If patients were minors during the malpractice or if they were being deemed incompetent, the statute of limitations could be different. To better understand how much time applies, victims should reach out to an attorney.
Consult with an Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyer about a Heart Attack Caused by Negligence
When a medical professional neglects his or her duty to you or a loved one, accidents become commonplace. Confusion, hurt, an inability to return to life as it once was may fill your life. While compensation from that negligent individual would not undo what has been done, it could bring you a monetary award that could help you address your expenses. If you or someone you know suffered negligence which caused a heart attack, an Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer could help you recover the compensation you need. All you have to do is reach out and speak to a lawyer who takes calls after hours. Call today for your free case review.
