Heart attack misdiagnosis victims and their families may be entitled to damages that are both financially and emotionally based. Commonly referred to as economic and non-economic damages – the type and amount of these damages varies greatly depending upon the circumstances involved.

Attorney Jeff Milman

In a recent interview, Jeff Milman, a California attorney who has been practicing law for over 25 years and whose practice focuses on medical negligence cases, explained that the available damages differ depending on whether the victim survived:

• Wrongful death. If the person passes, God forbid, the family would have a wrongful death case and would be able to claim emotional and general damages, what we call loss of care, comfort and society. In California, that's limited by a cap on damages. Some states have caps; others don’t. In addition, the family could recoup any funeral expenses paid. If there's a surviving spouse, he or she could seek to obtain the income lost by the family unit as a result of the death of someone who was employed or earning money.
  
  The final set of damages might be the loss of household services. For example, if a husband dies, we use an economist to figure out what the value of household services might have been, such as mowing the law, taking out the trash, etc. For a wife, those services might be cooking and cleaning. Nowadays however, those roles are mixed as both may work and it will be unique to that family unit.
  
  
• Negligence. If the person survives, the damages would consist of the pain and suffering caused by the failure to diagnose or treat. They would also claim whatever their out of pocket medical expenses might be. In addition, there might be a life care plan to the extent they will need future medical care by virtue of the negligence and the delay. In that situation, we would figure out every pill, band aid and procedure what they would need in the future. The difficulty is proving those damages by virtue of the delay as opposed to what the damages would have been if their cardiac condition had been properly treated.
  
  Finally, there also might be a claim for consortium – when there’s been damage to the marital relationship because one of the partners is severely compromised.

Other damages

Other damages might be available to witnesses of the misdiagnosis, according to Milman, who told us, “If certain members of the family witnessed and appreciated the events associated with the misdiagnosis, they may have their own independent claims for infliction of emotional distress. When a cardiac condition is not correctly diagnosed, the consequences are horrible.”

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.