Failure to diagnose transient ischemic attack

Stroke and permanent hemiplegia

Failure to diagnose transient ischemic attack, leading to stroke and delay in treatment resulting in permanent hemiplegia and disability. Our client suffered classic symptoms of stroke while at home, and was taken by an ambulance service to a nearby hospital, which owned the ambulance service.

Challenge:

The hospital was not stroke-certified, and although the emergency department personnel recognized the stroke symptoms and prepared to administer thrombolytic therapy, when our client’s symptoms resolved and he was hospitalized for observation, the medical providers and caregivers caring for him did not promptly recognize and act on his recurrent symptoms, instead attributing them to a psychological cause and falsely accusing him of trying to avoid returning to work.

Solution:

With the assistance of experts in neurology, interventional radiology, and life care economics we were able to demonstrate that the hospital had inadequately trained personnel and systems for the diagnosis and treatment of strokes, resulting in our client’s lifetime disability and need for medical care which would not have occurred with prompt and appropriate treatment.