When a cardiologist fails to give the necessary importance and attention to a patient’s complaints, diagnosis, procedure or treatment, the consequences can be devastating. If you or a member of your family has been injured because of a cardiologist’s error or carelessness, call our Baltimore medical injury attorneys without delay. Having helped countless victims of malpractice across Maryland, we know first-hand how a medical injury can affect your life, family and livelihood.
In 2014, a woman drove herself to the University of Chicago for an appointment with a heart specialist. The woman, who was a retired postal worker, had a number of health problems and was experiencing shortness of breath but expected the visit to be a routine doctor’s appointment, according to her daughter. However, the physician ordered a test during which an artery was damaged. According to the lawsuit, this damaged artery led to the woman dying a few days later from internal bleeding. Earlier this year, a jury awarded the woman’s surviving daughter $3 million in the malpractice claim against the cardiologist and the hospital. Recently though, that amount was reduced to $2.6 million in a post-trial agreement in which the hospital agreed to drop appeals.
While this case took place in Illinois, the reality is that cardiologist malpractice is common across the country. According to a 2017 Medscape report, sixty percent of cardiologists have been named in a lawsuit. Over 53 percent were involved in claims where other parties were also named, while 12 percent were involved in lawsuits in which they were the only person named. The top three reasons for being sued included the following: complications from treatment or surgery, wrongful death, and failure to treat or delayed treatment.
When it comes to cardiologists, medical malpractice is a form of negligence that takes place when a cardiologist’s conduct falls below the accepted standard of care and causes harm or death to the patient. The standard of care refers to the level of care that a reasonably prudent cardiologist would have used under the same circumstances. To establish medical malpractice, the plaintiff has the burden of showing the following: the cardiologist owed the patient a duty of care; that the cardiologist breached the duty of care owed to the patient; and that the cardiologist’s breach was a direct cause of the patient’s harm. It is important to note that negligence can be based on inaction as well, namely, the failure of a physician to act when there was a duty to do so.
Time is of the essence in these cases so it is important to act quickly. Just like every other state, Maryland limits the amount of time a plaintiff has to file a medical malpractice claim in civil court. Generally, a patient must file a medical malpractice claim either within five years from the date of the injury or within three years from when the injury was discovered, whichever is earlier.
If you or someone close to you has suffered harm due to a cardiologist’s negligence, we can help. At Arfaa Law Group, our skilled Baltimore cardiologist malpractice attorneys understand how to pursue these kinds of wrongful death and injury cases. Medical malpractice claims can be extremely complicated and having a reliable lawyer on your side can be the difference between winning and losing a case. Don’t take any chances and call us today at 410-889-1850 or contact us online.