Hospitals Often Fail To Diagnose Stroke In Younger Stroke Victims

• an 18-year-old man who reported numbness on his left side but was diagnosed with alcohol intoxication;
• a 37-year-old woman who arrived with difficulty speaking and was diagnosed with a seizure;
• a 48-year-old woman with sudden blurred vision, an off-balance walk, lack of muscle coordination, difficulty speaking and weakness in her left hand, who was told she had an inner ear disorder.

“Accurate diagnosis of a stroke on initial presentation in young adults can reduce the number of patients who have continued paralysis and continued speech problems,” said Seemant Chaturvedi, M.D., senior author of the study and a professor of neurology and director of the stroke program at Wayne State.  “We have seen several young patients who presented to emergency rooms with stroke-like symptoms within three to six hours of symptom onset, and these patients did not get proper treatment due to misdiagnosis. The first hours are really critical.”

Intravenous delivery of the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the only U.S. government-approved treatment for acute stroke. It must be delivered within three hours of symptom onset to reduce permanent disability caused by stroke.

If you or someone you love suffered injury or death because of delay in the diagnosis or treatment of stroke, you should contact the lawyers at Berger & Lagnese, LLC for a free consultation.  The lawyers at Berger & Lagnese, LLC specialize in medical malpractice cases involving the failure to diagnose and treat medical conditions such as stroke.