Each year in the United States, there are more than 800,000 strokes, according to the National Institutes of Health. Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, and every four minutes someone dies of stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet, medical studies have found that about 9% of patients who presented to emergency departments with strokes were initially misdiagnosed or received a delayed diagnosis. In cases where patients presented with mild, nonspecific or transient neurological complaints, such as comorbid headaches and vertigo, a 2017 study found that misdiagnosis ranged from 24 to 60%.

Theories of liability in plaintiffs’ stroke litigation include delayed diagnosis and treatment of acute strokes, failure to recognize and treat evolving aneurysms, and failure to educate anticoagulated patients about required monitoring. To be clear: Prompt diagnosis and treatment can mean the difference between recovery with little or no disability and permanent brain damage, disability or death. As stroke cases are complex by nature and require in-depth medical and legal knowledge, including the ability to build a case with multiple highly specialized experts, we offer this overview of issues to consider when evaluating a potential stroke case.

Types of Strokes and Treatment

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