Cardiac Conditions in legal proceedings.
Seventeen cardiac conditions the panel reports on, grouped into seven categories. Each condition page sets out the legal context, the clinical questions in scope, and the report types typically paired with it.
The full catalogue.
Each card below links to a dedicated condition page setting out the legal context, the clinical questions in scope, and the report types typically commissioned for that scenario.
Coronary & ischaemic
3 conditionsClaims involving ischaemic heart disease — missed myocardial infarction, undiagnosed coronary artery disease and complications of angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention. Reports reference NICE NG185 and current interventional cardiology practice.
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Acute presentation
Missed & delayed MI
Incomplete cardiac assessment in A&E or primary care — failure to perform ECG, troponin testing, or to escalate where the picture warranted it. Causation usually turns on whether timely revascularisation would have changed the outcome.
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Delayed referral
Coronary artery disease & angina
Underdiagnosis or delayed referral for symptomatic coronary disease. Common patterns: misattribution of cardiac chest pain to non-cardiac causes, and failure to investigate stable angina progressing to acute coronary syndrome.
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Procedural
Angiography & PCI complications
Procedural complications including coronary dissection, perforation, vascular access injuries and stent-related problems. Reports address whether the complication reflects accepted procedural risk or a departure from interventional practice.
Aortic & vascular
1 conditionAcute aortic syndromes — most commonly missed or delayed diagnosis of aortic dissection, where the time-critical clinical picture and the high mortality risk make breach and causation questions particularly sharp.
Rhythm & electrical
4 conditionsArrhythmia-related claims, from missed atrial fibrillation and anticoagulation failures through to ventricular arrhythmias, palpitations and device complications. Electrophysiology subspecialty input where the rhythm itself is in issue; AF management references NICE NG196.
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Embolic risk
AF & anticoagulation failures
AF detection and stroke prevention. CHA₂DS₂-VASc-guided anticoagulation decisions, warfarin and DOAC management, and the embolic stroke that follows where therapy was not started or was inadequately monitored.
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Ventricular
VT & arrhythmia claims
Ventricular arrhythmias including missed or undertreated VT, late identification of inherited arrhythmia syndromes, and the consequences of inadequate cardiac monitoring in high-risk patients.
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Symptom dismissed
Palpitations — missed cause
Cases where palpitations were dismissed as benign without appropriate investigation — particularly in the context of subsequent syncope, sudden cardiac death or stroke. Holter, event recorder and echo decisions routinely in scope.
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Device
Pacemaker & ICD complications
Device-related claims including lead displacement, infection, perforation, inappropriate shocks and end-of-life management. Subspecialist EP input where implantation technique or programming is in issue.
Structural & valvular
4 conditionsStructural cardiac conditions — valve disease, cardiomyopathy, adult congenital disease and infective endocarditis. Reports address missed diagnosis, delayed referral and the consequences of poor surveillance. Valve and structural heart subspecialty input where appropriate.
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Late referral
Valvular heart disease
Missed or delayed diagnosis of aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation and other valvular conditions — and the consequences of late surgical referral, including symptom progression and irreversible ventricular damage.
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Inherited risk
Cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic, dilated and inherited cardiomyopathies. Reports address screening of family members, late diagnosis in symptomatic patients, and management decisions bearing on prognosis and sudden death risk.
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Adult congenital
Congenital heart disease
Adult congenital heart disease — claims relating to delayed diagnosis, missed transition from paediatric care, and the long-term complications of corrected or palliated congenital lesions.
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Infective
Infective endocarditis
Infective endocarditis has a short window for effective intervention. Reports address blood culture timing, echocardiography decisions, and the consequences of late antimicrobial or surgical management.
Heart failure & chronic
2 conditionsChronic cardiac conditions where the issue is long-term management rather than a single acute event. Heart failure management references NICE NG106 and the heart failure subspecialty.
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Long-term care
Heart failure mismanagement
Claims relating to the diagnosis and ongoing management of heart failure — including failure to escalate to specialist input, suboptimal medical therapy, and inadequate device or transplant referral where indicated.
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Primary care
Hypertension complications
Untreated or undertreated hypertension and the downstream cardiac consequences — left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and stroke. Reports examine primary care monitoring and treatment decisions over time.
Surgical & procedural
1 conditionClaims arising from cardiothoracic surgery — CABG, valve replacement, congenital heart surgery, and post-operative complications including infection, bleeding and graft failure. Reports reference British Cardiovascular Society and Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery guidance.
Catastrophic & fatal
2 conditionsCases involving death or catastrophic outcome — sudden cardiac death and stroke or TIA where the underlying cause is cardiac. Frequently paired with inquest reports; see also the Chief Coroner’s guidance.
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Coronial
Sudden cardiac death
Coroner-facing reports on sudden cardiac death, where the question is often whether prior symptoms, family history or investigations should have triggered earlier intervention. Frequently instructed alongside inquest work.
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Embolic source
Stroke / TIA — cardiac cause
Embolic stroke arising from atrial fibrillation, intracardiac thrombus, patent foramen ovale or endocarditis. Reports address the cardiac contribution to stroke and whether earlier identification of the source would have prevented the event.
Which conditions arise in which claims.
Most solicitors arrive at the conditions index with a claim type already identified. The cards below set out the cardiac conditions most commonly involved in each, and the report types they typically pair with.
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Personal injury
Cardiology in PI claims
Cardiac injury or sequelae following trauma, accident or workplace exposure. Most commonly seen with post-traumatic arrhythmia, stress-related ischaemic events and questions of future cardiac risk. Reports often address pre-existing cardiac risk where the case involves apportionment.
Typical reports: Condition & prognosis Causation
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Clinical negligence
Cardiology in negligence work
The bulk of cardiology medico-legal instruction. Most commonly seen with missed MI, missed aortic dissection, anticoagulation failures and post-procedural complications. Reports apply the Bolam test, as refined by Bolitho, to identify departures from accepted cardiology practice.
Typical reports: Breach of duty Causation
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Inquest & fatal
Cardiology in coronial work
Coroner-facing reports on the cardiac contribution to death. Most commonly seen with sudden cardiac death, fatal MI following missed presentation, and stroke from a cardiac source. Reports address foreseeability and the standard of care in the period leading up to death.
Typical reports: Inquest & fatal cardiac
Tell us the diagnosis in question.
A two-line summary of the cardiology issue is usually enough for the panel to match the right subspecialist and indicate the appropriate report type. Quotation returned the same working day.
Same-working-day quotation Fixed fee where the bundle allows Both sides instructed