The First Thing Our Lawyers Actually Do: Listen
When a family reaches out about a possible stroke misdiagnosis, the process doesn’t start with a lawsuit. It starts with a conversation.
A stroke misdiagnosis attorney begins by learning what your family experienced. From there, the firm gathers the relevant medical records and imaging and arranges for an independent review by qualified medical experts who understand stroke care.
That review examines the care your loved one received and compares it against the standard of care: what a reasonably competent provider, under similar circumstances, would have done. It’s an honest process, which means the review sometimes concludes that providers acted appropriately despite a tragic outcome. Families who receive that finding often say that clarity, while painful, helped them move forward.
If the review reveals a departure from expected care that contributed to a worse outcome, your family will be in a position to make an informed decision about what to do next. The consultation is free, and there is no obligation to pursue anything further.
Our Process
We guide you through every step with clear communication and compassionate support.
Free Consultation
Call us anytime to discuss your case. We listen carefully and answer all your questions with no obligation.
Medical Review
Our team conducts a thorough investigation with qualified medical experts to determine if malpractice occurred.
Legal Action
If we find evidence of negligence, we build a strong case and handle all legal aspects on your behalf.
Secure Recovery
We fight to secure the financial resources your family needs for long-term care and peace of mind.
What the Medical Review Examines and What It Often Finds
Stroke misdiagnosis is more common than most people realize, and it follows recognizable patterns. Symptoms like dizziness, unsteady gait, slurred speech, and sudden confusion can be attributed to vertigo, intoxication, anxiety, or a migraine, especially when a patient is younger or doesn’t fit the expected profile. Brainstem strokes are particularly prone to misdiagnosis because they often don’t produce the classic one-sided weakness that emergency teams are trained to spot.
Other cases involve imaging issues, such as:
- A CT scan that isn’t ordered promptly
- An MRI that isn’t obtained when the CT appears normal, but symptoms persist
- Errors with imaging, such as misreading or false negatives
Some patients are discharged after an initial evaluation, only to return hours later in significantly worse condition. Others spend time in the emergency department without neurology being consulted at all.
Whether the Standard of Care Was Upheld
The medical review centers on one core question: what would a reasonably skilled provider have done under these circumstances? That benchmark, called the standard of care, is not perfection. It accounts for the pressures of emergency medicine. But it does set a floor.
Timely neurological assessment, appropriate imaging, recognition of stroke mimics, and the decision about whether to administer treatment or arrange a transfer are all part of it.
When care falls below that benchmark, the review documents how and why.
What a Missed Stroke Can Mean
The outcomes when a stroke goes unrecognized or is treated too late range from partial, recoverable deficits to permanent, catastrophic disability. Some patients experience significant cognitive or physical impairment. Others develop locked-in syndrome (LIS), a devastating condition in which a person retains awareness but loses nearly all voluntary movement.
Understanding the full range of what was at stake is part of what the review makes possible.
How Access Affects Care
Kansas geography matters here. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in Kansas, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a significant portion of the state’s population lives far from a certified stroke center with full neurological services. Many rural and smaller community hospitals rely on telemedicine-based stroke consultation because they don’t have board-certified neurologists on site. Many small or rural hospitals in Kansas do not have a neurologist available to diagnose and treat stroke patients, leading some systems to connect physicians and patients with a neurologist via virtual health networks at any time of the day or night.
This context matters when evaluating a case. Whether a hospital had the resources to recognize and treat a stroke, and whether it did what it could with those resources or fell short, is exactly what the medical review is designed to examine.
How Transfer Times Can Make or Break Care
When a stroke patient at a community or rural hospital needs a higher level of care, such as endovascular therapy or neurosurgical intervention, they require transfer to a facility equipped to provide it. The time a patient spends at the first hospital before being transferred out is measured as door-in-door-out (DIDO) time, and it is a recognized quality benchmark in stroke care.
The American Heart Association recommends that DIDO time should not exceed 90 minutes. The recommended DIDO time from the Brain Attack Coalition and the Joint Commission is less than 120 minutes. According to JAMA, Kansas’ median DIDO time is 98 to 118 minutes for acute ischemic stroke eligible for endovascular therapy and 115 to 167 minutes for other acute ischemic stroke.
Every minute of delay in stroke treatment represents continued injury to brain tissue that may not be recoverable. When a transfer takes longer than it should, the question of why, and whether it reflected a systems failure or protocol breakdown, is one that the medical review will address.
Talk To Our Legal Team Today
We’re here to answer your questions and help you understand your options.
Schedule a Free Consultation
What Happens If the Review Shows a Problem
When the medical review reveals a departure from the standard of care that contributed to harm, a legal case can be built around those findings. Your attorney works to establish what happened, when, why it fell short, and who bears responsibility for it.
Responsibility doesn’t always rest with a single physician. Depending on how care was structured and delivered, it may involve an emergency department team, a hospital system’s policies and protocols, or multiple providers across a chain of decisions. The review helps identify where the breakdown occurred and who was positioned to prevent it.
What Families Are Actually Trying to Secure
A legal case in this context isn’t primarily about punishment. It’s about resources. A severe stroke outcome can fundamentally change what a family needs to survive financially, including:
- Skilled nursing care
- In-home assistance
- Rehabilitation
- Home modifications to accommodate disability
- The income that may have been lost
For families who lost their loved one, it may involve the support that person would have provided over a lifetime.
| Type of Care | Estimated Cost in Kansas |
| Private duty nurse (hourly rate) | $67/hour |
| Private duty nurse (visit rate) | $138/visit |
| Long-term care facility, e.g., nursing home (semi-private room) | $104,025/year |
| Long-term care facility, e.g., nursing home (private room) | $108,770/year |
Source: Genworth
Those needs are real and ongoing. The goal of the legal process is to put families in a position to meet them.
What to Preserve Right Now
If you’re thinking about reaching out to our team, a few steps can protect important information while you decide:
- Request copies of all medical records and imaging from every facility involved.
- Gather discharge paperwork and any written instructions provided at the time of release.
- Write down, as specifically as you can, what you were told and when; the timeline of conversations with providers matters.
- Keep any imaging discs if they were given to you.
None of this commits you to anything. It simply makes sure the information is available if and when a review happens.
Why You Can Trust Our Team with Your Family’s Future
Families in this situation don’t need a law firm that treats them like a case number. They deserve one that starts by really listening before drawing any conclusions.
At Newsome Law, we start every stroke misdiagnosis matter by learning what happened in your family’s words. We then coordinate a review with independent medical experts who have the background to evaluate stroke care specifically. We keep caseloads limited so that attorneys remain directly accessible throughout the process, and families remain in control of every decision.
And our fee arrangement is straightforward; we don’t collect fees unless compensation is recovered.
Call for a Conversation When You Are Ready
You don’t have to know whether you have a case to reach out. That’s what the consultation is for. It’s free, it’s confidential, and there’s no obligation to take any further steps. Whatever you decide, the goal is simply to give your family the information it needs to make that decision clearly.
Give us a call to get the answers you’ve been looking for. Newsome Law is ready when you are.
What Our Clients Say
Real stories from families we've helped through difficult times.
5.0
Newsome Law are fantastic! They have been working on my case for the past 3+ years and I have not once had a bad experience with anyone who works there. They have worked tirelessly to help me through my accident and the medical bills that loomed overhead. I am extremely pleased and grateful to have them, fighting on my side during this period in my life.
5.0
Selecting a Law Firm in a time of tragedy , is one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime. There are so many Firms out there that will chase you down , make unrealistic commitments and set unrealistic expectations. This is the last thing that is needed in such a painful and difficult time
Newsome Law Is a step above all the rest. They are not some run-of-the-mill Firm. But rather an experienced Team of established excellence and success. As one of Newsome Law’s grateful clients, they always operated in the best interest of my family. Were always available to take my call , and were compassionate to the pain and needs of my family. Newsome Law is the right Firm for you to choose.
5.0
5 Stars???!!!! These guys deserve the universe!!!!!!! They came through with every promise and were professional, diligent, smart, friendly, and understanding of the situation I was going through every step of the way. Very happy with the customer service so if that’s a thing for you, that’s another reason to go here. Honestly you will be making a mistake if you don’t go here. Rich is top tier in the US for attorneys and he definitely fought hard to get the job done here. If you want your money… GO HERE!!!!!!!
5.0
Newsome Law represented me in a very positive manner. Always professional, courteous, supportive and attentive. They were always able to keep me apprised of the status of my case. The team on my case were always easy to work with and on top of all issues. I never had to wonder where we were at in the process. I would recommend them to anyone needing this type of help in the future.
5.0
Just an amazing experience with the Newsome Law firm. Our case was very sensitive and close to our hearts. We were treated with the utmost respect for our situation and everything was handled in a professional and timely manner. We cannot say enough good things about the entire team!
5.0
I am so pleased to have worked with this firm. The attention to detail, time spent one on one, not feeling like I was just a number and someone truly caring about what was going on with me and my case was more than I could have ever hoped for. I will use this firm again if I ever need one and will recommend to everyone who asks to reach out to Newsome Law if they find they ever need someone to represent them. More than pleased and happy with everyone and everything from the office. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
5.0
I am so pleased to have worked with this firm. They went above and beyond for my sons case. I would highly recommend this firm to anyone. Always communicated with us, always answered all our questions and fought for my sons case to get the best. Newsome Law thank so much again for all you did. God Bless!
5.0
Partnered with this law firm under unfortunate circumstances and ended up being a great success. They understood the mission and intent, and collectively, conducted all of the behind the scenes work, resulting in a successful end result. If you want one of the best, here’s your opportunity and highly recommended.
5.0
When you’re in a hospital bed all jacked up from an accident and you google best personal injury attorneys, this is who you will find, and they are. Never had been in a lawsuit before and had never needed an attorney. They took such amazing care of me, and handled everything so professionally. A great team of paralegals and attorneys. Thank you so much guys.
Need to Speak with Someone New
Our lines are open 24/7. Call us anytime for immediate assistance.
Call Now: (407) 648 5977
