Jury awards woman $7M after radiologist misread left her blind at age 23
An Erie County, Pennsylvania, jury has awarded a patient $7.1 million after a radiologist reportedly overlooked signs of a blood clot on her CT scan, eventually leaving her blind at age 23.
The case dates to November 2020 when Allison Mitchell was admitted at Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie after she had developed a headache that led to her losing consciousness. She underwent a CT scan of the head, which was interpreted by Anil K. Bhardwaj, MD, of Foundation Radiology, Law.com reported Monday.
However, the physician found no signs of concern, ordered a follow-up MRI, and Mitchell was discharged from the hospital after three days. The headache persisted and she returned several days later when doctors diagnosed and treated her cerebral venous thrombosis. By then, buildup from the clot had left her with “nearly total vision loss,” the report noted.
She later filed suit, with a jury reaching the seven-figure verdict on Sept. 27.
“Allison is grateful to have finally obtained justice,” attorney Dominic Guerrini, of Kline & Specter, said after the decision according to Erie News Now. “While Allison’s injuries are catastrophic, her courage in moving forward has been truly inspiring. It has been a privilege to represent her.”
Bhardwaj had contended that the original CT did not reveal any signs of concern, and he acted appropriately by ordering the MRI (which Mitchell never received). Guerrini and colleagues asserted that the original exam showed “readily visible signs of abnormalities suggesting cerebral venous thrombosis.”
Jurors determined that Bhardwaj was about 90% responsible for the damages and Mitchell the other 10%. The amount includes $1.28 million in lost earnings, $3.5 million for pain and suffering and $2.35 million in medical expenses. The case is captioned Mitchell v. AHN Saint Vincent Hospital.
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Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.