Item: Miller & Zois, Attorneys at Law
Rating: 5
Author: Terry Waldron

This page discusses medical malpractice lawsuits against cardiologists, their settlement value, and the type of malpractice lawsuits against cardiologists that lead to settlements and verdicts.

A cardiologist is a specially trained doctor specializing in preventing, diagnosing, and managing diseases and health conditions involving the cardiovascular system, including the heart and blood circulation through the body.

Cardiologists are different from cardiovascular surgeons. Cardio surgeons are surgical specialists that perform surgeries involving the heart and cardiovascular system. By contrast, a cardiologist is an internal medicine doctor that primarily performs diagnostic testing and prescribes medications. Cardiologists perform some invasive procedures such as angioplasty, pacemaker insertion, and heart catheterizations.

The personal injury lawyers at our firm are very familiar with medical malpractice claims against cardiologists. Most of the cardiology negligence cases we handle are in Maryland. But we handle catastrophic medical malpractice and birth injury cases around the country.

Our attorneys look at every malpractice lawsuit filed in Maryland. Cardiologists are frequently named defendants in major medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits. As discussed more below, in our experience litigating these cases, allegations against cardiologists usually involve diagnostic failures or misdiagnoses.

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Cardiologist Education and Licensing

Like all doctors cardiologists start by completing medical school and earning a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree. After earning their medical degree doctors who want to become cardiologists must complete a residency training program first in general internal medicine and then a specialized cardiology residency. The exact length of the residency training requirement varies depending on the specific field of cardiology. After successfully completing the residency training program, a fellowship in cardiology is required and can last up to 5 years.

Cardiologists can become board certified by satisfying the American Board of Internal Medicine requirements and passing the certification exam. Once certified, the ABIM requires cardiologists to maintain their board certification through continuing education and periodic examinations. Cardiologists can further distinguish themselves by becoming a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology.

What Does a Cardiologist Do?

Many cardiologists work in private solo or small group practices with some connection or attachment to a hospital. Increasingly cardiology group practices are being acquired by hospitals and consolidated into the hospital medical systems.

This is a trend that has occurred in most medical specialties over the last ten years but particularly in the field of cardiology. Whether through acquisition or otherwise, most cardiologists have a standing affiliation with a hospital, and a large part of their practice involves in-patient care.

Cardiologists help diagnose, treat, and prevent heart diseases and health conditions involving the heart. They also focus on cardiovascular disease and conditions that involve the blood vessels. Cardiovascular and heart conditions are often interrelated. Cardiologists devote most of their time to diagnostic efforts and testing.

A patient with symptoms of a cardiovascular or heart problem will be referred to a cardiologist for testing to determine if they have a problem with their heart or blood vessels. Symptoms that might prompt a referral to a cardiologist include chest pains; abnormal heart rates; shortness of breath; and high or low blood pressure.

Cardiologists are also called in for the treatment of heart attack patients or other heart diseases such as:

Atrial fibrillation
Heart arrhythmias
Hypertension
Congenital heart disease
Atherosclerosis

Most cardiologists are primarily involved in non-invasive diagnostic testing and treatment with medication. Common diagnostic tests handled by cardiologists include electrocardiograms (EKG or ECG) and echocardiograms.

However, some cardiologists perform invasive procedures such as angioplasty, valvuloplasty, stenting, and congenital and coronary thrombectomies. Cardiologists who perform these procedures are sometimes called interventional cardiologists.

Malpractice Lawsuits Against Cardiologists

Cardiologists are sued for medical malpractice on a fairly regular basis. A recent Medscape study on cardiology malpractice claims reported that 60% of cardiologists have been named as a defendant in a malpractice lawsuit.

Nearly half of the cardiologists in that 60% reported being sued more than once. In our experience, malpractice claims against cardiologists usually involve some failure to diagnose, incorrect diagnosis, or delay in diagnosis, usually a heart attack.

This seems consistent with the existing statistical data indicating that diagnostic negligence is the leading cause of cardiology negligence claims.

So much of what cardiologists do is based on testing and identifying potential cardiovascular problems before they cause things like heart attacks or strokes.

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Do Cardiologists Get Sued for Malpractice Frequently?

Yes. Cardiologists are sued for medical malpractice on a fairly regular basis. A recent Medscape study on cardiology malpractice claims reported that 60% of cardiologists have been named as a defendant in a malpractice lawsuit. Nearly half of the cardiologists in that 60% reported being sued more than once.

Again, one new disturbing fact is that medical malpractice lawsuits against cardiologists have risen 91% in the last decade. Medical malpractice lawsuits generally are falling. (One benign explanation: the population is getting older.)

What Do Cardiologists Get Sued for the Most?

There are three primary causes for a cardiologist to get sued for malpractice:

Misdiagnosis (myocardial infarction is the most common)
Improper Treatment/Failure to Treat
Medication Errors (amiodarone and warfarin are common threads in these claims)

A common thread you see in malpractice lawsuits against cardiologists is allegations of negligence based on failure to perform additional testing or failure to follow up on initial testing. Take, for example, a patient who goes to a cardiologist with shortness of breath or other symptoms.

The cardiologist performs basic, entry-level testing, which comes back normal. The patient is sent home with instructions to follow up for further testing if symptoms get worse and end up dying of a heart attack the next week from an artery blockage that may have been discovered with a little more testing.

Cardiologists have to decide how much testing is warranted with every patient they see and what type of testing to perform. This sort of diagnostic practice is exactly what leads to cardiac negligence claims.

What Is the Average Settlement Amount of a Cardiologist Malpractice Lawsuit?

The average settlement value for a medical malpractice lawsuit in the U.S. is somewhere between $300,000 to $380,000. The median value of a medical malpractice settlement is $250,000. The average jury verdict in a malpractice case is just over $1 million. The value of an individual case will vary a great deal, depending on what state it is in and the severity of the plaintiff’s injuries.

Do Cardiologists Get Sued More Than Oher Doctors?

Cardiologists get sued more than most other doctors. But not by much. The percentage of cardiologists who face a malpractice claim each year is 8.6% compared to 7.4% among other doctors. Does that sound high? You must remember that many of these cardiologists have been sued many times, while countless other cardiologists who provide great care for their patients have never been sued.

Cardiologist Verdicts and Settlements

Summarized below are various medical malpractice lawsuits against cardiologists that resulted in jury verdicts or publicly reported settlements. These stories offer a good sampling of the type of medical negligence allegations that cardiologists often face (and are the most successful fact patterns).

- Plaintiff v. Cardiologist (Virginia 2020) $1,200,000: A man suffered a stroke during cardiac catheterization. The hospital staff ventilated and intubated him. The man was then airlifted to another hospital to undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Despite the severe injuries, he miraculously recovered in less than a year and returned to work. The lawsuit alleged that the cardiologist’s failure to inject the syringe into the right catheter caused his injuries. At a mediation, the parties agreed to a $1,200,000 settlement.
- Sanford v. Cardiologist (Florida 2020) $4,086,004: A man underwent a stent placement and cardiac catheterization. The cardiologist failed to cannulate his coronary artery and place the stent during the procedure. Following the procedure, he suffered cardiac decompression, cardiorespiratory arrest, and cardiogenic shock. After his death, his family hired a medical malpractice lawyer who filed a cardiac catheterization lawsuit alleging that the cardiologist failed to timely halt the surgery when he saw it was going south. The jury awarded $4,086,004.
- Jimenez v. Weiss (California 2020) $1,221,985: A 62-year-old man was admitted with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. Two days later, he died from cardiac arrest. His surviving family alleged that the cardiologist’s failure to timely treat his cardiac ischemia and timely order an emergency angiography caused his death. A jury awarded $1,221,985.
- Cowher v. St. Luke’s University Health Network (Pennsylvania 2019) $6,290,000: A 48-year-old man was referred to a cardiologist for chest pains. The cardiologist diagnosed him with non-cardiac panic attacks. Several weeks later, the man collapsed while jogging and died. His cause of death was a heart attack. His family alleged that the cardiologist failed to perform diagnostic tests and appreciate his extensive medical history. The jury awarded a $6,290,000 verdict.
- Bojarski v. VHS of Illinois (Illinois 2017) $2,300,000: A 47-year-old woman presented to the hospital with chest pain, nausea, and shortness of breath. She died from heart failure shortly after admission. Her family alleged that the ER physician and cardiologist failed to timely her heart attack, resulted in her death. This case settled for $2,300,000.
- Plaintiff v. Cardiologist (New Jersey 2017) $875,000: A 69-year-old patient was home recovering from a triple bypass when began to experience symptoms of an aortic dissection (a known risk of bypass surgery). However, when he was re-hospitalized, the cardiologist attributed his problems to pneumonia and problems with his medication and failed to diagnose the aortic dissection. More specifically, the clinical cardiologist failed to perform a trans-esophageal echocardiogram, chest CT or chest MRI, which would have revealed the problem. Instead, a more limited echocardiogram test was performed. The patient eventually died due to his undiagnosed aortic dissection and sued the cardiologists for malpractice. The case settled for $875,000.
- Family v. Cardiologist (Massachusetts 2017) $1.7 million: Male patient in his mid-50s was under the care of a cardiologist. He was diagnosed with coronary artery disease and inferior wall ischemia, and a metal stent was implanted to treat the condition. Sometime later, the patient has chest pain and goes to the hospital, where the defendant installs a new drug-eluting stent. Within hours of being discharged from the hospital, the patient suffers cardiac arrest and dies. The cause of death is determined to be myocardial infarction. His estate brings wrongful death malpractice action against the cardiologist, eventually settling for $1.7 million.
- Doe v. Cardiologist (Massachusetts 2016) $2.5 million: 44-year-old male patient went to a cardiologist for testing as his primary care physician recommended. EKG tests showed a potential oxygenation issue with his heart. It was recommended that he undergo an exercise stress test, which the second cardiologist performed. The results of that test were relayed to the decedent as normal. Five days after the consultation with the second cardiologist, the patient died from a cardiac incident. His family hired a medical malpractice lawyer and sued both cardiologists, alleging they were negligent in failing to properly follow up on test results that indicated the likelihood of obstructive coronary artery disease. The suit also alleged that the second cardiologist incorrectly interpreted test results. Both defendants settled for a combined $2.5 million.
- Doe v. Roe Cardiologist (Washington 2014) $3.5 million: A 43-year-old man with a history of reflux had cardiac symptoms, including pain upon exertion. He consulted with his cardiologist, who told him to increase his Prilosec dosage and return for a stress echocardiogram if the symptoms persisted. 2 weeks later, the plaintiff suffers a myocardial infarction (heart attack). Subsequent testing reveals that the plaintiff had a 99% blockage of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, requiring the placement of a stent. Plaintiff suffers numerous complications due to the heart attack, including renal failure, infection, and bowel ischemia, which required surgical resection and placement of an ileostomy. He is also forced to retire from his job. He sues the cardiologist for negligently failing to perform adequate testing and diagnose his blockage earlier. Case settles for $3.5 million.
- Doe v. Cardiologist (Massachusetts 2013) $2.2 million: A 6-year-old boy had chest pains and fainting while running with friends. He was taken to the hospital, and the cardiologist found no cardiac basis for the fainting. After a second episode, the child went to a pediatric cardiologist who did an echocardiogram but found the results to be normal and concluded there was nothing wrong with the boy. Eight months later, the boy tragically suffered a heart attack while playing and tragically died. The autopsy revealed an abnormality in his coronary artery, a condition that could have been treatable if timely diagnosed. The boy’s family hired a heart attack attorney who sued the pediatric cardiologist, alleging that he failed to diagnose the boy’s condition. The case was settled out of court for $2,250,000.
- Rita v West Suburban Cardiologists (Illinois 2010) $3.7 million: A 38-year-old woman went to the hospital for severe shortness of breath and was examined by a cardiologist. He wanted to do a stress test at the hospital but decided (based on her young age) it could wait. The patient was discharged from the hospital but died of advanced coronary disease before her outpatient testing. The victim’s family hired a malpractice lawyer and sued the cardiologist, claiming that if the stress test had been done in the hospital, it would have revealed her condition and prevented her death. Defendant claimed that he acted appropriately under the circumstances. The jury deliberated for two days before awarding the plaintiff $3.7 million.

Get More Verdicts and Settlements

Contact Miller & Zois About Cardiologist Malpractice

If you have a potential medical malpractice claim against a cardiologist, Miller & Zois can help. Call us today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.

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