Are all strokes medical malpractice? From time to time, I am contacted by either a person who has suffered a stroke, or a loved one of someone who has died from a stroke, with the idea that because the person suffered a stroke this is always going to be medical malpractice. This position is essentially rooted in the theory that all bad results must mean medical malpractice. The truth of the matter is that under Maryland law a bad result does not necessarily mean automatic medical malpractice.
The purpose of this educational article is to help you understand some of the critical areas of analysis when we are talking about a possible delay in a stroke diagnosis, or a misdiagnosis of a stroke. At the conclusion of this article you should have a better understanding of some of the factual and legal areas of analysis from a Maryland medical malpractice attorney’s standpoint.
WHAT ARE THE FACTS?
The facts, what are the facts? Anytime an attorney is presented with a stroke case, and any type of medical injury case for that matter, the attorney is going to want to know what the facts in the case. This is because the facts lay the groundwork in many instances for the legal analysis.
So when you contact an attorney about a stroke case more than likely the attorney is going to want to know for example, did the person suffer a stroke in the hospital or did the stroke happen at home? If the person did suffer the stroke while in the hospital were they being treated for some other medical condition?
Did the doctors or hospital order certain tests? For example CT and other types of scans can play important roles in determining the type of stroke that the person may have suffered. Understanding the type of stroke that a person may have suffered is critical in providing treatment options to the patient. So another question would be was the stroke an ischemic stroke or was it a hemorrhagic stroke?
Other areas of analysis would be if the stroke was suffered in the hospital did the person exhibit certain signs? For instance, was their speech slurred, or did they have facial drooping and drooling, or did they suffer from facial paralysis or body paralysis? All of these factual questions and others, are important areas of analysis when a medical malpractice attorney is analyzing a possible malpractice case.
Answers to these types of questions are critical to case analysis due to Maryland requirements when bringing a medical malpractice case.
WHY ARE THE FACTS IMPORTANT?
You may be asking yourself now why are these facts important? This is because Maryland law requires the use of medical experts to determine whether you may have a viable medical malpractice case. Your medical experts have to be able to give an opinion as to whether your treating doctor fell below the standard of care owed to you causing your injury.
These medical experts will look at and examine your medical records to have a good understanding as to how things played out in your case. As a result, your medical experts will want to know in a possible stroke malpractice case what type of stroke the patient suffered from. These types of facts will allow them to reach an opinion as to the standard of care and whether there was a deviation from the standard causing your injury.
The above is just one simple example of some of the facts that your medical expert is going to want to know to be able to give an opinion as to possible malpractice.
ARE ALL STROKES MEDICAL MALPRACTICE?
Are all strokes medical malpractice? Hopefully now, you can see that not every stroke is going to be medical malpractice.
As a closing example, let us say that a person suffers the stroke while at home and massive damage is done to the person. The person is then taken to the hospital where doctors do all they can to treat the patient. But at the end of the day, because of all the damage that occurred before the patient reached the hospital, there was little that could be done. In a situation like this, it may be hard to blame the doctors for the injury to the patient. This could be an example of a bad result due to no fault of the medical professionals.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO ME FURTHER?
If you have questions regarding a stroke injury, and the injury happened in Maryland, this is what I invite you to do. Pick up the phone and give me a call. I can be reached at
301-850-4832. I answer Maryland medical malpractice questions just like yours all the time and I’ll be happy to listen to your story.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
Boston Law Group, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
301-850-4832
