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Phoenix Delayed Stroke Treatment Lawyers – Hospital Negligence

Strong advocates for Arizona hospital patients when critical stroke care is delayed

The good news is that many types of strokes, especially ischemic strokes, can be treated with blood-clotting medications and other types of medical care. The bad news is that hospitals in Arizona often fail to recognize the symptoms of strokes or fail to provide timely medical care. The doctors, nurses, and other medical staff at hospitals in Phoenix should be able to quickly assess if someone is having a stroke and provide and know whether life-saving medications such as tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) should be administered. If stroke care is delayed, a patient may suffer paralysis, cognitive impairment, and emotional harm. Delays in stroke care may be deadly.

Hospitals across Phoenix should be able to promptly determine if a senior, a child, or an adult is having or recently had a stroke. Often, simple tests can determine if a stroke diagnosis is correct. At Garcia & Artigliere, our Phoenix delayed stroke treatment lawyers understand when and how emergency departments and hospitals should react if a patient or someone such as an emergency transport personnel may be having a stroke.

Our attorneys work with cardiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and stroke specialists who can verify whether the hospital care was competent. Since 1993, our Phoenix 0trial lawyers have obtained more than $3 billion in settlements and jury verdicts. We’ll explain your rights and work to show a Phoenix hospital failed you or your loved one at the time when competent care was critical.

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What is a stroke?

According to the Barrow Neurological Institute located in Phoenix, Arizona:

A stroke occurs when there is a sudden loss of blood flow to the brain due to a blood vessel blockage or rupture. The loss of blood deprives brain cells of oxygen, and they begin to die. When brain cells die, the bodily functions they control are impaired or lost.

There are two main categories of strokes - ischemic strokes and hemorrhagic strokes.

  • An Ischemic stroke happens “when fatty deposits build up inside a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain and cause a blockage, or when a blood clot travels to the brain and causes a blockage.” Ischemic strokes are sub-classified as an embolic stroke (“a blood clot or plaque fragment forms somewhere in the body and becomes lodged in a blood vessel in the brain that is too small for it to pass through”) or a thrombotic stroke (“a blood clot forms inside one of the arteries that supplies blood to the brain or inside an artery within the brain itself”)
  • A Hemorrhagic strokehappens when a blood vessel ruptures or leaks – and the leaked blood compresses - damaging brain cells. The two types of hemorrhagic strokes are an intracerebral hemorrhage and a subarachnoid hemorrhage which vary depending on the site of the bleeding and other factors.

Another type of stroke is a transient ischemic attack (TIA, or “mini-stroke”) occurs when the flow of blood to the brain is blocked for a short period of time, usually no more than five minutes. While TIAs don’t normally cause permanent brain injuries, they are a warning sign that a major stroke may soon occur.

What factors indicate someone in Phoenix is having a stroke?

Ischemic stroke symptoms

Ischemic stroke symptoms vary depending on the side and part of the brain that is affected and the severity of the brain injury. A very common symptom is sudden weakness or numbness of the face, leg, or arm – on one side of the body.

Other ischemic stroke symptoms include:

  • Loss of vision in one or both eyes, or double vision
  • Difficulty talking
  • Weakness
  • Confusion or impaired consciousness
  • Seizures
  • Urinary incontinence.

Hospital staff should use the BE FAST test to help determine if a patient is having a stroke:

B – BALANCE: Ask the person to walk. Do they have trouble keeping their balance or walking normally?

E – EYES: Ask the person about their eyesight. Have they lost vision or experienced vision changes in one or both eyes?

F – FACE: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

A – ARMS: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S – SPEECH: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?

T – TIME: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

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Hemorrhagic stroke symptoms

A very common symptom of a hemorrhagic stroke is a “thunderclap headache.” This type of headache happens quickly. Patients say the headache is the worst headache pain they’ve ever experienced. Some of the other symptoms are similar to those for an ischemic stroke. Additional symptoms may include light sensitivity, pain above the eye and behind the eye, vertigo, a stiff neck, and vomiting.

What are the treatments for strokes in Phoenix?

Ischemic stroke symptoms

The Barrow Neurological Institute states that:

If appropriate medical care is received within the first four hours and 30 minutes of the onset of symptoms, the impact of the stroke can be minimized.

The longer a stroke goes untreated, the more brain cells die and the more difficult recovery becomes. Therefore, it is critical to treat stroke quickly to preserve as much brain tissue as possible.

A preferred treatment, called thrombolytic therapy, for ischemic stroke is a drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA. This medication breaks up blockages in the arteries that cause ischemic stroke helping to restore the critical flow of blood to the brain.

Another treatment is an endovascular thrombectomy if the blockage is in a large brain artery. The surgeon mechanically removes the blood clot. This treatment must be performed within 24 hours from the start of stroke symptoms.

Hemorrhagic stroke symptoms

The treatments for a hemorrhagic stroke include surgery “to remove blood from the brain and to place a temporary drainage catheter to reduce pressure within the brain.” Endovascular procedures may be used to manage the bleeding.

When are hospitals in Phoenix responsible for delayed treatment of stroke injuries or deaths?

At Garcia & Artigliere, our Phoenix delayed treatment of stroke lawyers, work with medical specialists to show what steps should have been taken that weren’t by the hospital. Common medical mistakes that cause stroke disabilities or deaths include:

  • Not recognizing that the patient was having a stroke and the type of stroke
  • Delay in administering tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)
  • Administering tPA to hemorrhaging stroke victims
  • Delay in treating a stroke
  • Not believing the patient’s stroke symptom complaints
  • Failure of the hospital to educate the staff about stroke symptoms

The medical team at the hospital should understand when clot-busting medications can be used. They should use standard stroke emergency protocols, such as the National Institution of Health Stroke Scale.

Hospitals may be directly responsible for any medical malpractice committed by their medical employees – including doctors and nurses. They may also be liable for failing to supervise and monitor stroke care provided by employees or non-employees.

At Garcia and Artigliere, our Phoenix delayed treatment of stroke lawyers are skilled at showing that the hospital delayed a stroke diagnosis, made an incorrect diagnosis, failed to treat the stroke victim promptly, made errors in the treatment, or failed to monitor the patient after any surgeries or treatments.

How do your Phoenix delayed treatment of stroke lawyers fight for patients and families?

Delays in stroke treatment can cause severe disabilities and a lifetime of pain. Delays in treatment may be deadly. At Garcia & Artigliere, our Phoenix delayed stroke treatment attorneys demand compensation for all the damages the patient suffers including:

  • Current and future medical costs including ER care, surgeries, doctor visits, therapies, and medications
  • The patient’s physical pain and emotional suffering
  • Any loss of bodily function
  • Loss of quality of life
  • Any wage and income damages

Our lawyers file Arizona wrongful death claims on behalf of the families of loved ones who died due to delayed stroke treatments. Wrongful death claims in Arizona include damages for the funeral and burial expenses; the loss of financial support; and the loss of personal support including the loss of the love, guidance, and companionship the loved one would have provided

Our lawyers, in one illustrative case, obtained a $2,450,000 settlement for an elderly person who suffered injuries when his stroke was misdiagnosed by a hospital emergency department and its staff.

Do you have a delayed stroke treatment attorney near me?

Garcia & Artigliere represents clients who suffer disabilities when stroke care in Phoenix is delayed. We also represent families when a loved one tragically dies due to stroke care that is delayed. Our seasoned trial lawyer are skilled in filing claims against hospitals and physicians.

Contact us now. Talk with the Arizona delayed stroke lawyers at Garcia & Artigliere today

At Garcia & Artigliere, our Phoenix delayed stroke lawyers have helped thousands of clients in Arizona and nationwide obtain strong recoveries against people and businesses who fail to provide competent care. We understand the unique issues involved with medical malpractice claims.

Call or contact our trial lawyers now to schedule a free, confidential case evaluation. We maintain additional offices in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Louisville, and New Orleans. We handle delayed treatment of stroke cases on a contingency fee basis.

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