Misdiagnosis of Aneurysm

Aneurysms are treatable conditions that can become deadly when they aren’t properly diagnosed and treated. If you were harmed or a loved one died due to a medical professional’s misdiagnosis of an aneurysm, a knowledgeable Syracuse medical malpractice attorney at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to help you.

Aneurysms are damaged blood vessels. If they burst, they can trigger massive internal bleeding and can present with different symptoms depending on where the blood vessel is located. An aortic aneurysm exists closer to the heart. Symptoms include moderate to serious chest or back pain, vomiting, nausea, sweating, palpitations, light-headedness and increased heart rate. Brain aneurysms are situated inside the head. Symptoms include light sensitivity, sudden onset migraines, vomiting, nausea, and seizures. It is important for doctors to diagnose an aneurysm quickly, as speed of diagnosis matters for survival. However, given that the signs and symptoms of an aneurysm can easily be mistaken for other conditions such as a heart attack, misdiagnosis may occur.

When patients have symptoms of aneurysms, the nurses and doctors treating them should initiate tests to identify any damage to blood vessels that might be related to an aneurysm. If a diagnosis is confirmed, there needs to be immediate treatment. Otherwise there is a possibility of brain hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, internal bleeding, heart failure, or other problems linked to aneurysms. One treatment option for aneurysms is surgical clipping of a blood vessel. This is done by finding the aneurysm and putting a clip on the vessel feeding the damaged portion. Endovascular coiling is not as invasive, and is a procedure through which a wire is put through a catheter into the groin and routed to where the aneurysm is. The coiled wire causes a blood clot to form, and the blood clot seals the vessel and stops it from breaking.

You can hold a doctor liable for medical malpractice for misdiagnosis of an aneurysm if you can show by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the health care provider owed a professional duty of care, (2) breach of the professional duty of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. You must establish a breach of the health care provider’s duty of care in order to recover damages. This means that you need to be able to show that the defendant health care provider didn’t act according to the accepted standards or practices in the medical community with regard to the diagnosis. It is usually necessary to retain an experienced and credible health care provider to testify and provide an expert opinion about what the professional standard of care was in connection with diagnosing the aneurysm, how the defendant failed to meet it, and causation. A skilled medical negligence lawyer can help you identify an appropriate expert for your case.

Sometimes a misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose an aneurysm causes a wrongful death. Under New York Estates, Powers, and Trusts Code Part 4, a plaintiff can prove wrongful death by showing that a death was caused by a defendant’s wrongful conduct. The personal representative of the decedent’s estate is the person permitted to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. The damages that can be recovered in the wrongful death lawsuit include the losses of the heirs, beneficiaries, the devisees, and the estate of the decedent. As the personal representative, you would hold damages in trust for the survivors who are to be given those proceeds.

If you were harmed or a loved one died as a result of a misdiagnosis of an aneurysm in Syracuse, a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer can assess the facts of your case. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents patients and families who have been injured due to medical negligence in Syracuse, as well as Rochester, Elmira, Auburn, Cooperstown, Lyons, Binghamton, Ithaca, Wampsville, Herkimer, Canandaigua, Utica, Oneida, Oswego, Lowville, Watertown, and Lowville. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.