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When you’re having a medical emergency, every second counts. Having a delay in care can lead to serious or life-changing consequences. One of the scariest situations is when a doctor or hospital doesn’t recognize the signs of a stroke. A stroke is a true medical emergency, and if it’s not caught and treated right away, it can cause permanent brain damage, problems with walking or speaking, or even death. If something like this happened to you or a loved one, you may have a case for medical malpractice.
A stroke happens when blood can’t get to the brain like it’s supposed to. This cuts off oxygen and can start damaging brain cells quickly. There are two main kinds of strokes. One is called a hemorrhagic stroke, which happens when there’s bleeding in the brain. The other kind is an ischemic stroke, which happens when a blood vessel to the brain gets blocked. An ischemic stroke is more common. It can happen as you are going about your daily life or during a medical procedure.
Some of the warning signs of a stroke include sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg (especially on one side of the body), trouble speaking or understanding others, confusion, vision problems, dizziness, trouble walking, or a really bad headache that comes out of nowhere.
Because strokes can get worse fast, getting help right away is critical. There are treatments, like clot-busting drugs or surgery, that can make a huge difference. Getting the right care quickly might mean the difference between making a strong recovery or living with serious disabilities or worse, death.
Unfortunately, strokes are still missed way too often by medical professionals. This happens more with younger people, or when someone doesn’t show the “typical” symptoms, or when they don’t have the usual stroke risk factors. Some of the biggest mistakes doctors make include brushing off symptoms like dizziness or headaches as something minor like migraines or anxiety. In other cases, they don’t order the right tests, like a CT scan or MRI, or they wait too long to give treatment. Sometimes doctors rush through an exam and miss the signs altogether.
If you or someone you care about had a stroke in Illinois and the doctors didn’t catch it or treated it too late, we want to help. You don’t pay anything to start a case, and we’ll make sure one of the best firms in the state reviews your situation. These cases can be worth millions of dollars because of the lifelong care stroke victims may need. Call us any time at 312-346-5320. We help people all over Illinois.