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$28m Award in Failure to Order MRI and Diagnose Cancer against Kaiser

4/9/2015

 
A recent verdict in a medical malpractice case against Kaiser coming out of Los Angeles (Rahm v Southern California Permanente Medical Group, BC 441742) is an example of how failure to diagnose a serious or fatal condition promptly can delaying MRI can have devastating effects on a person's health and life.  
In Rahm, Plaintiff started experiencing back pain when she was 16. It became worse a few months later and she went to seek treatment from a chiropractor. The chiropractor became concerned about the case of plaintiff's pain and referred her to Kaiser for further evaluation. Conservative treatment was begun but no MRI was ordered.  
At one point, plaintiff 's mother laid out the history of plaintiff's conservative care and begged the doctor to order MRI.  The doctor ordered MRI, which wasp performed about 4 months after Plaintiff's initial treatment with Kaiser. The MRI revealed that the cause of Plaintiff's pain was a large, aggressive malignant tumor in her pelvis known as pelvic osteosarcoma. Thereafter, Ms. Rahm had to undergo radical surgery to amputate her right leg, remove half of her pelvis, and fuse her spine.

At trial the plaintiff argued that the Kaiser physician refused to give plaintiff an MRI from March 12, 2009 until it was performed on July 2, 2009, which would have revealed plaintiff's cancer much sooner and could have spared plaintiff from losing her leg, requiring a less extensive surgery and less future care. It was also noted that plaintiff and her mother requested MRI on numerous occasions during those months, but those requests were denied, and the medical records didn't even reflect those requests.  

The Defendants argued that neither plaintiff nor her mother asked for an MRI before June 2009 and that plaintiff and her mother were the ones who caused the delay in plaintiff's care because they went to acupuncture, yoga, pilates, all outside Kaiser, instead of attending physical therapy at Kaiser in April/May 2009.

Ultimately, after a very lengthy and contentious litigation, plaintiff prevailed getting an aware of over $5m in lost earnings and over $20m in future medical care.

One could only wonder if the reason for not ordering MRI at Kaiser timely in this case, assuming we take the plaintiff's version of events as true, is the same reason that we see over and over  - an attempt by a large healthcare provider to save on a pricy test (usually over $1,500) whenever possible.

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Law Office of Arkady Itkin - San Francisco & Sacramento Injury and Employment Lawyer
We represent employees and employers in employment and wrongful termination cases, as well as victims of serious injuries in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Palo Alto, San Mateo and throughout Northern California. We all represent businesses and start-ups in a wide range of business and employment issues and disputes. 


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  • Home
  • Employment Law
    • Wrongful Termination >
      • At-Will Employment
      • Termination After Unfair Warnings and Write-Ups
      • Union Grievance, Workers Comp and Wrongful Termination
      • Labor Code 970 Claims
      • Promissory Estoppel and Employment Contracts
      • Implied Contract Claims
    • Discrimination >
      • Proving Discrimination
      • Age Discrimination
      • Disability Discrimination >
        • Protected Disabilities
        • Medical Leave / Disability Accommodations
        • Job Reassignment As A Disability Accommodation
        • SSI Disability Benefits and Your Court Case
        • Sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation
      • Pregnancy Discrimination
      • Race Discrimination
      • Sample Discrimination Complaint
      • DFEH and EEOC Investigations
    • Retaliation >
      • How to Prove Retaliation
      • Dealing with Retaliation While Still Employed
      • Retaliation for Complaining
      • Whistleblower Retaliation
    • Harassment
    • Defamation at Workplace
    • Prof. License Defense
    • Leaves of Absence >
      • Medical Leave as Reasonable Accommodation
      • FMLA Entitlement and Reinstatement to Work
      • CFRA Leave
      • Employers' FMLA Notice Obligations
      • Paternity Leave (FMLA)
      • Sample FMLA Leave Request
    • Wages / Overtime Claims >
      • Wage Claims
      • Employee or Contractor
      • Exempt / Non-Exempt >
        • Admistrative Exemption
        • IT Support Specialists Compensation
        • Computer Professional Exemption from Overtime
        • Recruiters / Account Executives Exemption
        • Complaining About Being Misclassified
      • Vacation Pay / PTO
      • On-Call Time Compensation
      • Deductions fr. Commissions
    • Unempl. Benefits Appeals >
      • Tips for EDD Phone Interview
      • Unemployment Benefits Appeal Hearing Representation
      • CUIAB Hearing Tips
    • Employment Law Blog
    • For Employers
  • Personal Injury
    • Five Tips For Injury Cases
    • Slip-and-Fall Injuries
    • Assault and Battery
    • Recorded Statements
    • Repairing Your Vehicle
    • Unpaid Medical Bills
    • Injury Law Blog
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Police Excessive Force
  • Practice Areas
  • About
  • Results
  • Submit Case
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Consultations
    • Workplace Rights Checklist
    • Deposition Tips
    • Mediation Tips
    • Effective Mediator
    • Suing Current Employer
    • Severance Agreements
    • Workplace Investigation
    • Arbitration
    • Statutes of Limitations
    • Healthy Litigation Mindset
    • Trial Tips
    • Working Remotely
    • How To Find The Right Lawyer For Your Case