DC Aortic Dissection Malpractice Lawyer

Aortic dissection is a complication which may occur when an aortic aneurysm is not properly diagnosed and treated with either surgery or medication. Aortic dissection can be life threatening but it can also be presented in most cases when an aneurysm is correctly diagnosed and prompt treatment is provided.

If a medical care provider makes a mistake and fails to provide an accurate and timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment, it may be possible to pursue a legal claim for damages. A DC aortic dissection medical malpractice lawyer can help.

Risks Associated With Aortic Dissection

More than 10,000 fatalities are caused by aortic aneurysms and aortic aneurysms are a contributing factor in more than 17,000 annual deaths, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are two primary causes of deaths as a result of aortic aneurysm. One of those two causes is dissection and the other is rupture.

CDC explains that an aortic aneurysm occurs when a balloon-like bugle- called an aneurysm– develops in the aorta, which is the main artery which originates in the left ventricle of the heart and which carries oxygenated blood throughout the body.

The aneurysm usually happens in the thoracic area (a thoracic aortic aneurysm) or the abdomen (an abdominal aortic aneurysm). Smoking, age, high blood pressure, genetics, and sudden injury are among the reasons why aortic aneurysms develop.

These aneurysms must be diagnosed and treated before complications like dissection occurs. Dissection happens when the artery wall splits due to the force of blood going through the wall’s layers. This results in blood leaking out where it should not be, instead of being delivered throughout the body.

U.S. Preventive Services explains that screening is recommended for men aged 65 to 75 if they have ever smoked, as well as for people showing symptoms such as shortness of breath or for individuals who have sustained certain types of injuries. Identifying and treating an aortic aneurysm before dissection occurs can save lives.

Aortic Dissection Medical Malpractice

When a doctor should have recommended screening and failed to do so, it may be possible to pursue a claim for aortic dissection medical malpractice. Claims may also arise from a failure to conduct appropriate testing, a failure to accurately read test results, and a failure to follow up with testing and/or provide the patient with treatment.

If a reasonable medical professional with your doctor’s background would have recognized the symptoms and/or performed testing and your doctor did not, a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis could result in a medical malpractice claim.

If you experienced surgical problems which damaged the aorta, or if your treatment was botched for an aortic aneurysm, this can also give rise to a malpractice claim. Again, the standard is whether the mistake would have been made by a reasonable medical professional. If the care received was substandard and no reasonably competent doctor would have made the error, you should consider pursuing a case for damages if dissection occurred.

Getting Help from an Aortic Dissection Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Victims may be able to pursue a claim against their own doctor as well as other caregivers including those who misread test results. It may even be possible to make a case for damages against the clinic or hospital where the misdiagnosis or failed treatment occurred.

Victims or surviving family members of patients killed by aortic dissection will have to show negligence and demonstrate the caregiver’s failure was the direct cause of dissection or other complications. A DC aortic dissection medical malpractice lawyer can assist with determining who should be sued and can help put together a strong case for compensation.

DC Aortic Dissection Malpractice Lawyer