Patient sues SimonMed Imaging claiming tech injected her with Valium instead of contrast media prior to MRI
An Arizona patient recently filed suit against radiology provider SimonMed Imaging, claiming a technologist injected her with Valium instead of contrast media prior to an MRI exam.
The alleged incident occurred at the Thompson Peak SimonMed Imaging Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, where the company is headquartered. Plaintiff attorneys claim the sedative also was administered in an excessive dose, forcing the woman to allegedly go back on anti-seizure meds and delay her fertility treatment.
“I question the validity of the medication dosages, as in order to provide 50 mg of Valium, the nurse would have had to draw up medication from a large number of vials, which would be a highly atypical practice,” an emergency doc allegedly relayed, according to the complaint.
A SimonMed employee purportedly admitted to the mistake over the phone, with the patient recording the call. The radiology provider issued a statement in response to the lawsuit, which local TV station ABC 15 Arizona shared.
“We again want to emphasize our commitment to the provision of exceptional healthcare services to all patients and to our adherence to all applicable regulatory requirements and guidelines, including all reporting obligations,” the statement said. “Our duties and responsibilities relating to patient privacy under HIPAA prevent us from providing any information regarding any patient experience or interaction at SimonMed and from responding to questions regarding any incident that may have occurred at our facilities and/or the actions we may have taken in response thereto.”
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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.