Kansas woman files lawsuit against Saint Luke’s Health Systems for misdiagnosis
A Kansas woman has filed a lawsuit against Saint Luke’s Health System and doctors for alleged medical malpractice, negligence, and a misdiagnosis that left her multiple sclerosis untreated for 10 years.
The lawsuit filed on Nov. 8 on behalf of Sara Allison, a resident of Kansas and former patient at Saint Luke’s, is seeking $25,000 in damages for expenses and relief.
Named as defendants in the suit are Allison’s former neurologists at Saint Luke’s, Charles L. Weinstein and Sarah Gibbons, as well as Saint Luke’s Physician Group. The suit alleges the defendants are responsible for “failure to take steps toward studying and achieving the true diagnosis” of Allison’s medical condition that has impacted her life.
The suit contends that Allison was misdiagnosed by Saint Luke’s doctors in 2012 with migraine headaches. That misdiagnosis, according to the suit, only worsened her condition. Court documents allege that throughout Allison’s treatment she exhibited symptoms that could have been related to a “demyelinating disease” which affects the nervous system, but was only treated for migraines.
The plaintiff argues that while she was in Saint Luke’s care, Allison’s physicians were negligent and “ignored, dismissed, failed to consider or follow-up on, and/or they failed to further test appropriately toward a differential diagnosis.”
Without an accurate diagnosis by Allison’s physicians at Saint Luke’s Neurology, the suit alleges that her disease “progressed” and was left “untreated,” which has caused lasting effects.
After 10 years, her then-neurologist Dr. Gibbons allegedly advised Allison to seek treatment at another hospital, where she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The suit says it wasn’t until Allison sought assistance elsewhere that she received “sufficient testing and a true differential diagnosis from her new physician, who has confirmed that she has MS/relapsing-remitting.”
The suit contends it took a decade for Allison to find her “true diagnosis.” Over time, her condition worsened and prevented her from supporting herself financially, the suit says.
Reached by email on Friday, a spokeswoman for Saint Luke’s Health System said, “Saint Luke’s is deeply committed to providing the highest level of care to every patient. While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, we can say we are proud of the exceptional care we provide and have the utmost confidence in our physicians who dedicate their lives to serving our patients.”
