Women, strokes and a failure to diagnose A number of different types of medical negligence can result in malpractice claims in the state of Ohio. One of the common situations in which medical malpractice claims arise is in regard to a failure to diagnosis. Women who've experienced strokes are particularly susceptible to situations in which a failure to diagnosis in a timely manner occurs.
Women and symptoms of stroke
Women and men can share some of the same
symptoms of stroke. These are summed up in the F.A.S.T. mnemonic prompted by the American Heart Association:
- Face drooping
- Arm weakness
- Speech difficulty
- Time to call 911
The problem is that women often experience less subtle signs of a stroke that generally are not shared by their male counterparts. These include:
- Fatigue
- General body weakness rather than on one side
- Nausea
Women seeking medical assistance
Typically, women who've suffered a stroke present themselves at emergency departments or even their own physician's offices. Because a woman can have more subtle symptoms of stroke, a
failure to diagnose in a timely manner or even a failure to diagnose at all can occur. This type of failure to diagnose can have catastrophic consequences. The lack of a proper, timely diagnosis of a stroke can result in a person suffering far more serious consequences than would have occurred if a determination of a stroke had been made in a timely manner. Indeed, the consequences for this type of failure to diagnose can prove fatal. Physicians are not legally required to be perfect in their professional endeavors. However, when it comes to do identifying a disease or illness, a physician must issue a diagnosis in a reasonable manner. The failure to do so opens up the possibility of a medical negligence or medical malpractice claim.