Having a heart attack is undoubtedly a horrific experience in many ways – physically, emotionally and financially. Millions of Americans suffer heart attacks every year. However, many of those could have been avoided – if symptoms were properly diagnosed.

Why should someone who thinks he or she has been misdiagnosed contact an attorney?

We asked Jeff Milman, a California attorney who has been practicing law for over 25 years and whose practice focuses on medical negligence cases, this and other questions in a recent interview. He told us, “That's the issue; they don’t really know if they’ve been misdiagnosed. A good attorney will know. That’s our specialty – investigating these things. There are those who contact us where they think they have a case. However, after we evaluate it and bring in experts, we may decide they don’t have a case. Others will have a case.” He provided the following example:

Take a situation where someone presents with radiating chest pain going down the left arm, sweating, worsening conditions with exertion and episodes of passing out. If the doctor immediately decides that it’s atypical chest pain, sends the patient home and he dies – leaving behind his family – well, you and I can make that diagnosis. However, in many cases, it’s more subtle than that.

How are the majority of heart attack misdiagnosis cases resolved?

Most cases eventually settle, although many do go to trial, according to Milman. He explained:

There are some that will have to go to trial or to an arbitration process, if there's an arbitration agreement. The important things in evaluating cardiac cases are whether patients have a good lawyer and good experts and whether a jury or judge will find the family or patient deserving.

Those are some of the factors that are looked at by the other side in evaluating the case from their standpoint. By virtue of its very nature, medical malpractice cases generally have a tendency to go to trial more often than not. These are not inexpensive cases by any stretch of the imagination, either. Our firm has a number of high profile seven figure settlements and verdicts involving cardiac cases. In fact, we just finished one up for over $6 Million.

However, good cases generally settle. There are some exceptions, though. You could have a physician who won’t consent to a settlement and wants to see what a jury will do. If that's the case, so be it.

What questions should someone ask a medical malpractice attorney before hiring him?

Hiring the right lawyer can make all the difference. But how do you find the right lawyer? According to Milman, consumers should ask an attorney the following questions before hiring him or her. He explained, “They should find out what percentage of their practice deals with medical negligence. Someone who does family law one day, criminal law the next day and medical malpractice the third day creates a recipe for disaster. Other questions to ask would be how many cardiac cases they have handled, whether they have access to good experts, how many cases they have tried or arbitrated and whether they have access to good experts.”

If you or a loved one has been injured or died due to a heart attack misdiagnosis, contact an attorney whose practice focuses on medical negligence cases. Consultations are free, without obligation and are strictly confidential. To contact a qualified attorney to discuss your situation, please click here.