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Wrongful Death Due to Cardiac Arrest Malpractice
Ohio and Northern Kentucky Medical Malpractice Attorneys for Fatal Cardiac Arrest Cases
The sudden death of a loved one is a tragic and overwhelming experience. When this tragedy is caused by a medical provider that’s supposed to care for your loved one, you have legal rights available. Medical providers have a duty to provide a standard of care to their patients. Wrongful death lawsuits are often the only recourse grieving families have after this standard of care is violated.
An experienced wrongful death attorney from TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm can help you file a wrongful death due to cardiac arrest malpractice claim. This compensation may not turn back time and bring back your loved one, but it can help you and your family recover the resources you need to handle unexpected medical and funeral costs.
To learn more about how one of our dedicated attorneys can help you and your family recover damages on behalf of your loved one, please give us a call at (800) 698-4054 or reach out to us online today for a free consultation.
What is Cardiac Arrest?
Cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of heart function. This medical emergency can be caused by heart disease, heart attacks, electrocution, and even drug overdose. During cardiac arrest, the heart stops pumping blood, which leads to a sudden loss of consciousness. Cardiac arrest is fatal within minutes, so it’s essential to seek immediate medical attention.
Are Cardiac Arrest and a Heart Attack the Same Thing?
Cardiac arrest and heart attacks are two different problems with the same organ. During a heart attack, the victim is often awake and may or may not be in pain. A myocardial infarction (the medical term for a heart attack) happens when part of the blood supply to the heart is blocked or reduced. However, the heart continues pumping blood throughout the body.
During cardiac arrest, the heart stops pumping blood throughout the body. A person suffering from cardiac arrest is never conscious and needs immediate medical attention. Survival rates for sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital are extremely low–only 10%, to be exact. Unfortunately, in-hospital rates aren’t much higher at 25%.
A heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest, especially if the patient doesn’t get adequate care from a medical provider. Heart attacks are just one of the many causes of cardiac arrest.
What Causes Cardiac Arrest?
Heart conditions can affect the way your heart pumps blood to the rest of your body and can lead to malfunctions. These malfunctions can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. Heart disease accounts for 25% of deaths in the United States every year, but this isn’t the sole cause of cardiac arrest.
Cardiac arrest can also be caused by sudden, traumatic incidents that prevent your heart from pumping blood. Sports accidents account for nearly 40% of cardiac arrest incidents for children and teens under 18. Car accidents, penetrating injuries, and drug abuse can also cause cardiac arrest. Many people aren’t aware that they are at risk for cardiac arrest until it happens.
Immediate medical attention is critical for getting through cardiac arrest. But what happens if the medical providers make a mistake in your loved one’s cardiac arrest case? Medical and hospital negligence can lead to cardiac arrest and potentially result in death.
Medical Malpractice Cases Involving Cardiac Arrest
Of course, the safest place to be during a heart attack, stroke, or other medical emergency is a hospital. This is because medical providers can perform the necessary tests and act quickly to get you the care you need. Unfortunately, medical providers are not immune from making mistakes that have severe consequences. If you go into the hospital emergency room with chest pain, the triage nurse may review your medical records and determine that you aren’t at risk for a heart attack. An active heart attack doesn’t care about your risk factors (or lack thereof). Such a case of heart attack misdiagnosis can lead to cardiac arrest. Both a delay in treatment and a complete failure to diagnose can be a life-or-death situation.
In-hospital cardiac arrests may have a higher survival rate, but many patients still have an extremely high risk of fatality. Medical providers should have adequate training to care for cardiac arrest patients, but poor monitoring of the patient can result in death. A 2015 study found that nearly 60% of patients who suffered cardiac arrest had abnormal vital signs for 1 to 4 hours before the incident. Unfortunately, these signs often go unnoticed or unrecognized due to hospital negligence.
Can I File a Lawsuit for Cardiac Arrest Malpractice?
Medical providers have a duty to provide proper care and treatment to every single patient. Your loved one’s life may be in the hands of many healthcare providers at once, all who carry the same duty to your loved one. If they make a mistake that leads to the injury or death of someone you love, you have legal rights available. A wrongful death lawsuit can help you and your family recover compensation for the expenses you now face. The legal process for wrongful death claims may be complicated, but the attorneys at TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm are ready to help.
Proving Medical Malpractice
For a successful wrongful death due to medical malpractice claim, you and your legal team must prove that the medical professional failed his or her duty and caused the death of your loved one. Proving a medical malpractice claim is often difficult and requires a great deal of evidence. At TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm, our attorneys are supported by advanced scientific equipment and have a registered nurse on staff. This allows us to perform a thorough investigation into your case and uncover all the details of provider negligence.
Medical malpractice claims require four elements: standard duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. You and your legal team must be able to prove that the medical provider failed to take action that a reasonable person would or otherwise acted in a way that a reasonable person would not. This breach of duty must have directly contributed to or caused the death of your loved one. The Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati medical malpractice attorneys at TLF have the knowledge and experience necessary to prove your claim.
Damages for Surviving Family Members
Medical negligence cases can cause more than just the loss of a loved one. A sudden death can send your family into financial distress with the loss of an income and the added expense of hospital bills and funeral expenses. At TLF, our Covington wrongful death attorneys can help you recover compensation for:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Mental anguish
- Travel expenses
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of guidance and nurturing
- Funeral and burial expenses
Call the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Cardiac Arrest Malpractice Lawyers at TLF Today
Losing a loved one is never easy. If you believe you have a valid wrongful death claim in Covington or Cincinnati, our wrongful death attorneys are ready to support you during this overwhelming process. At TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm, we know the devastating effects of medical malpractice and negligence. Our experienced Ohio and Northern Kentucky personal injury attorneys have been protecting the rights of the injured for more than 50 years. For more information about our legal services, call us today at (800) 698-4054 or fill out our online intake form below.
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You Pay No Fees Unless We Win!
We are happy to offer a free consultation to evaluate your case. If you hire us as your legal counsel, we will represent you on a contingency-fee basis. You will pay no attorneys’ fees unless we recover financial damages.