Of the 227 firms on our 35 city lists in the United States, Hastings Law Firm scores highest on malpractice focus, published results, client reviews and experience, followed by The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates and Wapner Newman Attorneys At Law. Each firm keeps its best score from the cities it serves; open a city for its full list.
Best Heart Surgery Malpractice Lawyers in the United States
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This spot goes to one firm for a year. It's shown first, above everyone below, and labeled Featured.
4.6102 Google reviewsRated 4.6 out of 5 on Google from 102 reviews
Best for: Misdiagnosis and surgical injury claims
Among Hastings Law Firm's published results are a $19,750,000 failure-to-diagnose settlement and a $10,700,000 negligent-prescribing jury verdict. Because it focuses on malpractice and publishes those results, it tops this list.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
5.0216 Google reviewsRated 5.0 out of 5 on Google from 216 reviews
Best for: Delayed diagnosis and anesthesia injuries
An alleged delayed diagnosis of HSV encephalitis is behind the $11.65 million result published by The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates. For negligent anesthesia care, it reports another result of $8 million.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.7226 Google reviewsRated 4.7 out of 5 on Google from 226 reviews
Best for: Birth injury and delayed diagnosis
Among Wapner Newman Attorneys At Law's listed results are $8.4 million for brain injury after a delayed diagnosis and $7 million for birth trauma causing brain damage.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
Heart surgery malpractice lawyers by state
The rules change from one state to the next, so the lawyers near you are the ones to call.
What clients say about heart surgery malpractice lawyers
Google reviews of the firms on our lists, quoted as their clients wrote them and linked to where they were posted. We don't write, edit or pick reviews for pay.
A
AEP
July 2026 · Atlanta, Georgia
“The Baer team, especially Melinda, was instrumental in helping me through the aftermath of a car accident.
Melinda was friendly, transparent, and always took the time to answer my questions. She made the entire process much less stressful and gave me confidence every step of the way.
I highly recommend the Baer team!”
“Sean McConnell was very professional and always kept in touch with me concerning the progress of my case. He was knowledgeable and empathetic, and I trusted him throughout the entire process. He prepared me well and set my expectations appropriately. I would highly recommend this law firm and especially Sean McConnell!”
“Erik Peterson is by far the best attorney. Very knowledgeable, professional and honest. I needed an attorney for malpractice and from the moment we first had our meeting, he explained everything in terms I could easily understand and very thorough, was always very responsive when I had questions. The case wasn’t an...”
A failed heart operation may support a malpractice claim if care below the accepted standard caused the patient's injury or death. Failure isn't proof of malpractice. Get care for any symptoms you're having now before you ask a lawyer in your state to look at the treatment that concerns you and the harm it may have caused.
Start with what you know. Give the lawyer your chart, and include the procedure's name with any explanation you were given after it. You don't have to work out who was responsible before asking someone to look at the care.
What heart surgery malpractice means
Preventable harm from cardiac surgery or a related catheter procedure may give a patient grounds for a malpractice claim. The review looks at how the patient was treated, not just whether the treatment gave everyone the result they'd hoped for.
The search result titled Cardiology Malpractice Lawyer Texas describes cardiology malpractice as care that falls below the accepted standard during diagnosis or treatment of heart-related conditions. Families may struggle to get answers after an operation goes wrong. A poor outcome doesn't answer the question of whether the care met the accepted standard.
Surgery might not be your only worry. Improper medication management can lead to malpractice claims, according to the search result titled Common mistakes made by cardiologists. The Medication & Prescription Errors page may help you read further if your concern is about a prescription, not the surgery itself.
How an error can lead to harm
A legal review goes beyond asking what went wrong. The lawyer needs to understand what happened during care before assessing whether it met the applicable standard. Was the injury caused by care below that standard? Describe the mistake you suspect, then explain the harm you experienced afterward without treating them as the same thing.
A concern about medication management, for example, calls for a different explanation than you'd give about an injury during surgery. Describe the problem using the explanation you were given, too. Nobody explained what happened? Tell the lawyer. You don't need to fill that gap with guesses.
The questions a malpractice review needs to connect
1The care given
What happened during the procedure or related treatment?
Compare the treatment with the standard
2The accepted standard
Did that care fall below the standard that applied?
Examine whether a departure caused harm
3The connection to harm
Did the departure cause the injury or death?
Assess the possible claim
4State-specific legal review
A lawyer can explain how the law applies to those facts.
Warning signs deserve medical attention, not a legal diagnosis
According to the search snippet for 4 Signs of a Botched Heart Surgery, signs include bleeding and swelling or other signs of inflammation, along with infection and fever. A treating clinician can discuss these concerns. The snippet doesn't establish that any one of these symptoms proves a surgical error, so don't read it as proof.
Write down when a symptom first appeared, including what you told the care team about it. Record the person's response in their actual words if you can remember what they said. Mark anything you're unsure of, whether it's a date or statement.
A change during recovery isn't necessarily a sign of negligence. Describe the bleeding or fever you saw rather than giving it a label, and include anything you were told about an infection. The medical and legal reviewers can look into why it happened.
The reviewer needs to establish what the accepted standard of care required, then examine whether care below that standard caused the patient's harm. A serious injury can be reason enough to seek review. Its severity still isn't proof that the care was negligent.
Standard of care: Ask the reviewer what care this patient's circumstances called for as part of your discussion about assessing treatment. An unsuccessful operation doesn't, by itself, give you that answer.
Causation: Ask how the suspected error could have caused the injury. The sequence of events matters, but an injury that happened after treatment isn't enough, on its own, to show the cause.
Harm: Identify the injury or death you believe resulted from care that fell short. Describe the consequences you know about; you don't need to put a value on the claim.
The hospital's explanation might not answer all of your questions. Bring it to your meeting with the lawyer, along with those concerns. If something in the chart conflicts with what you were told, show the lawyer that entry instead of treating the whole record as something you can't rely on.
Don't take this general information as legal advice. To understand how the rules apply to the procedure and the injury you think it caused, talk with a lawyer in your state.
What the claim statistics can tell you
According to the search snippet for R. Montisci's 2023 article, Malpratice claims in cardiology and cardiac surgery, the findings came from a study of 40,916 physicians. With cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons listed separately, the figures show what percentage of physicians faced malpractice claims each year.
Annual percentage of cardiologists facing malpractice claims in the study cited by R. Montisci
Complication rates aren't shown here. You also can't tell from them how many claims succeeded or what chance your own case has of succeeding. Even when someone files a claim, negligence still needs to be established.
Prepare for a review without deciding the case yourself
What to do next
1
Address current medical concerns
If symptoms or follow-up care concern you, talk to a treating clinician. While you look for a lawyer, don't delay that conversation.
2
Write a factual timeline
If you know the procedure date, put it first, then note the symptoms you saw and what was said in later conversations. Distinguish what you observed yourself from explanations other people gave you.
3
Ask about the records needed
If you have the chart or discharge paperwork, let the lawyer know which documents you have. To help them review the care, ask which records they'll need from the operation and later treatment.
4
Explain the suspected harm
When describing what changed after treatment, include what the care team told you about it. If you're calling on a family member's behalf, say which events you saw yourself.
5
Ask about the state deadline
When you share the treatment dates, include when you first became concerned. Rather than picking a deadline from a general article, ask the lawyer how the statute of limitations applies.
If you share something, keep a copy. Rather than mixing assumptions into a long account, give a short one that sticks to what you know. You can simply say, “I don't know.”
Deadlines differ by state
There's no single nationwide statute of limitations for heart surgery malpractice. Because deadlines vary by state, you can't learn from a general page when your filing clock starts or when time runs out.
Before asking a lawyer in that state how the rules apply to you, use the state pages to check the rules where you received care. If you're waiting for the hospital's explanation, don't assume your filing deadline stays the same. That wait doesn't necessarily extend the deadline, either.
The concern may belong to more than one area of care
When choosing a related page, consider which care concerns you rather than how serious the outcome was. If diagnosis concerns you, the Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis page addresses that. For questions about care from the hospital or nursing staff, see Hospital & Nursing Negligence.
If you're concerned about how someone explained the proposed procedure, start with Informed Consent. If you want the anesthesia part of treatment examined, you can also read Anesthesia Errors. What caused your injury isn't established by a page category.
Ask for a case review
Before you call, you don't need a legal conclusion. When you explain the procedure, say why it concerns you. After asking what remains unknown and which records could answer those questions, ask how soon someone needs to assess the deadline.
Possibly. Even if an operation failed, the review must determine whether care fell below the accepted standard and whether that departure caused injury or death; failure alone doesn't establish malpractice. When you tell a lawyer in your state what happened, include the explanation you received. To assess how the law applies, they can determine which records they'll need.
When is a heart bypass surgery error medical malpractice?
For malpractice, the question is whether care fell below the applicable standard and caused harm. Calling it an “error” doesn't settle either question. Instead of assuming the outcome proves negligence, a lawyer needs to look at the treatment itself. When you have that conversation, bring the procedure date and any records or explanations you've received.
What are warning signs after heart surgery?
According to the search snippet for 4 Signs of a Botched Heart Surgery, signs include bleeding and swelling or other signs of inflammation, along with infection and fever. Having those symptoms doesn't automatically mean negligence, as the snippet doesn't establish. Before waiting for a legal review, seek medical guidance. When you write down the symptoms, include when you noticed them and what you told the care team.
Can medication management be part of a cardiology malpractice claim?
According to the search result Common mistakes made by cardiologists, improper medication management can be a reason someone brings a malpractice claim. Even so, it doesn't establish that a medication problem caused harm or involved negligence in your case. When you explain your concerns about the prescription to a lawyer, ask which records might help show what happened. For that part of care, see the Medication & Prescription Errors page.
How long do I have to file a heart surgery malpractice lawsuit?
Your state determines the deadlines. When your clock started and what filing deadline applies to your case aren't questions this page can answer. After checking the state pages, ask a lawyer in the relevant state how the statute of limitations applies to your situation. When sharing the treatment dates, include when you learned of the suspected error. Before every question is answered, you can still ask.
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