$18M settlement after radiologist misses ‘clear' warning signs of stroke on MR imaging

UPDATED Friday, March 5, with statement from the accused radiologist.

A 61-year-old Seattle woman and her family stand to collect an $18 million settlement after a Seattle radiologist allegedly missed warning signs of a stroke in MR images, attorneys announced Wednesday. On the other side, the physician says he met the standard of care (statement found here).

The dispute dates back to October 2016, when Isabel De Jesus-Congdon visited Swedish First Hill’s emergency department complaining of nausea and a sudden severe headache. A CT scan turned up normal, according to the contracted attending radiologist, and she was discharged only to return again to receive an MRI.

Richard Travis Clark, MD, read the images from a nearby remote office and deemed them as “normal.” However, De Jesus-Congdon’s attorneys said her brain was hemorrhaging and Swedish should have intervened during the two-week ordeal. She later suffered a “catastrophic” stroke and now requires 24/7 care due to brain damage, partial paralysis, and impairment of her arms and legs.

“It’s devastating to know that if the radiologist had just identified the clear signs of stroke, Isabel could have undergone a routine procedure that would have likely allowed her to recover with full health,” husband James Congdon, who pursued the lawsuit along with their two daughters, said in a statement issued by Luvera Law Firm March 3. “The settlement enables us to hold Swedish and the medical providers accountable, and to cover the expenses involved in my wife’s care.”

Swedish Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon, nor did its legal representatives at Seattle-based Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer. Clark was formerly employed by Seattle Radiologists, which merged with Inland Imaging under the name Integra in 2012 (all three firms are named in the suit). A representative at Spokane, Washington-based Inland said the two practices separated in late 2016 for reasons unrelated to the lawsuit. Attorneys representing both Clark and Seattle Radiologists, according to court documents, could not provide comment by press time late Wednesday.

Luvera Law said the settlement was approved back in September 2020 ahead of a scheduled jury trial. Swedish Health is responsible for $14 million of the payout, while Seattle Radiologists and Clark owe $3 million and Integra another $1 million.

Providers at the Seattle hospital reportedly discharged De Jesus-Congdon after that initial Oct. 18, 2016, CT exam and a headache diagnosis. The former Swedish Health lactation nurse returned to the ED five days later with continuing complaints of a headache and vomiting, and an emergency physician ordered magnetic resonance imaging for possible stroke.

She came back a third time Oct. 30, 2016, but the attending physician relied on Clark’s “normal” MR report, according to the family’s account of the incident. It was later found that the images showed “obvious” subarachnoid hemorrhage typically resulting from a burst blood vessel or aneurism. Attorneys said a proper diagnosis would have allowed a neurosurgeon to intervene. De Jesus-Congdon collapsed at her Seattle home three days after the final visit, and she was rushed to a different medical center where tests revealed the stroke. The family filed suit in June 2018.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Clark and his attorneys.