Unfortunately, in our business, we see a lot of bad outcomes from poor medical care. As the saying goes, however, sometimes “the best defense, is a strong offense.” This is particularly true in the case of ischemic stroke. It has been known to doctors and nurses for some time and if they aggressively treat the stroke with a powerful clot-busting drug known as tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), they can improve your chances of survival and reduce the possibility of any complications.
If they breach the standard of care by failing to recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke, or by failing to administer TPA, or by giving TPA inappropriately outside the window during which it is effective, the results can be devastating. If stroke is timely recognized a treated, the outcome should be excellent. WYMT, news station out of Eastern Kentucky, recently reported a story about Kathy Jennings, a nurse, who did all of the right things when she discovered that she was having a stroke and got herself to the hospital immediately. According to the report, everyone should be able to recognize the signs of a stroke. One such way is to remember the acronym FAST, which stands for the following:
F – Face drooping
A – Arm tingling
S – Slurred speech
T – Timing
If you have these signs, you need to call 911 immediately. And assuming you are treated appropriately, your outcome should be as good as that of Nurse Jennings. S
If a medical professional failed to diagnose you or someone you love and it led to further injury or wrongful death, you have the right to obtain compensation through a medical malpractice claim. For a completely confidential and free consultation regarding your medical misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose claim, call the experienced Kentucky and Ohio medical malpractice attorneys at TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm today.