The Questions Families Are Usually Sitting With
Most people who contact us aren’t sure they have a case. They’re sure they have questions.
Some of them are clinical:
- Was the imaging done in time?
- Should someone have called a specialist sooner?
- Was what happened in that emergency room consistent with how a stroke is supposed to be evaluated?
Others are more personal:
- Did my mother suffer more than she had to?
- Did my husband’s outcome have to be this severe?
A medical review can answer the clinical questions. Independent physicians—people with no relationship to the treating providers—examine the records, the imaging, and the documented decision-making to assess whether the care fell within accepted professional standards.
That assessment is honest in both directions. Sometimes it finds that providers did everything right in an impossible situation. That conclusion is genuinely useful; it closes a question that might otherwise stay open for years. When the review finds a decision that falls short of what the standard requires, families have the information they need to decide what comes next.
Getting to that point starts with a conversation, not a commitment.
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.
Why Stroke Gets Missed, and What the Review Looks For
Stroke is among the most time-sensitive conditions in medicine. The treatments that can limit or reverse brain damage are only available within narrow windows that close, whether or not a diagnosis has been made. When the diagnosis comes late, or not at all, those windows close with it.
The circumstances that lead to a missed stroke diagnosis vary, but a few patterns appear often enough to be worth discussing.
Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose
Posterior circulation strokes, which affect the brainstem and cerebellum, are the most frequently misdiagnosed.
They rarely cause the facial drooping or arm weakness that people associate with stroke. Instead, they tend to produce dizziness, vomiting, unsteady gait, slurred speech, or double vision. These symptoms overlap with vertigo, inner ear infections, and other far less urgent conditions.
In a busy emergency department, that overlap creates real diagnostic risk.
A Failure to Order Imaging or Keep a Patient for Observation
Beyond symptom presentation, the review looks at the sequence of decisions: whether imaging was ordered and when, whether a neurologist was brought in, and whether a patient with resolving symptoms was kept for observation or discharged.
Each of those decisions can be evaluated against what the standard of care requires, not what a perfect physician might have done, but what a reasonably competent one should have done given the same presentation and the same information.
A Failure to Transfer to a Comprehensive Stroke Center in Time
Vermont’s landscape adds another dimension. Much of the state is rural, and patients outside Burlington or other larger areas often arrive first at a hospital without dedicated stroke resources. From there, a transfer to a comprehensive stroke center may be necessary.
A 2023 study in JAMA measuring door-in-door-out time—the window between a patient’s arrival at a transferring hospital and their departure for a higher-level facility—found Vermont’s median transfer times range from 132 to 144 minutes for stroke patients eligible for endovascular therapy, and 115 to 167 minutes for other acute ischemic stroke patients. The recommended target is less than 120 minutes. What happened in the gap between arrival and transfer is something the review can examine.
The outcomes when a stroke goes unrecognized range from partial recovery with lasting deficits to catastrophic, permanent disability or even death. Locked-in syndrome, in which a person retains full cognitive awareness but loses almost all voluntary movement, is one of the most severe consequences and has been documented in cases involving delayed or missed diagnosis of posterior circulation stroke.
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We’re here to answer your questions and help you understand your options.
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If We Find Something, Here’s What Follows
A review that uncovers a departure from the standard of care becomes the foundation for a legal claim, but only if that departure caused harm that wouldn’t otherwise have occurred. Both things have to be true. The review is how you establish the first; medical causation analysis addresses the second.
Responsibility in stroke misdiagnosis cases isn’t always where families expect it to be. It may fall on an individual physician, an emergency department as a whole, a hospital system, or some combination. The review shapes that analysis.
What a legal case is designed to recover reflects what permanent disability actually costs: care at home or in a facility, rehabilitation, adaptive equipment, modifications to living spaces, and wages lost because the person can no longer work, or because a family member left work to provide care. For stroke survivors with severe outcomes, these are not short-term expenses.
| Type of Care | Estimated Cost in Vermont |
| Private duty nurse (hourly rate) | $153/hour |
| Private duty nurse (visit rate) | $175/visit |
| Long-term care facility, e.g., nursing home (semi-private room) | $169,360/year |
| Long-term care facility, e.g., nursing home (private room) | $186,333/year |
Source: CareScout Cost of Care Survey
A legal recovery isn’t about making an institution pay. It’s about making sure the people who need long-term care can actually afford it.
Before anything else: gather what you have. Request the complete medical records from every facility involved. If imaging was done, request the actual image discs, not just the written reports. Write down everything you remember about what happened and what you were told, including conversations that felt significant at the time. Discharge paperwork and follow-up instructions belong in that file, too.
The sooner this is done, the better; details fade, and records occasionally do too.
What Working with Newsome Law Actually Looks Like
The first call isn’t a pitch. It’s a chance for us to understand what happened and for you to understand what a review would involve.
We limit the number of cases we take on so that the attorney assigned to your matter is genuinely available, not periodically reachable through a paralegal. You’ll have direct contact throughout. When something significant happens, you hear it from us directly.
The medical review is conducted by independent experts, chosen for their qualifications, not their conclusions. We don’t look for a physician who will say what we want to hear. We look for one who will say what the records show. If the review concludes the care was appropriate, we tell you that. If it finds something else, we walk you through what it means and what your options are.
We do not charge fees unless we recover compensation. The consultation costs nothing.
Talk to Us
The point of the consultation is to get you better information than you have right now. It isn’t a first step toward litigation; it’s a first step toward understanding. Some families who go through the review decide to pursue a claim. Others get the closure of knowing the care was sound. Both are outcomes worth having.
The review is free and confidential with no obligation to do anything next.
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.
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