• 30
  • January
    2012

A medical malpractice lawsuit filed against Ohio University accuses the school's clinic of ignoring a former student's complaints of pain in her arm and contributing to her eventually losing that arm to flesh-eating bacteria. The lawsuit seeks catastrophic loss damages due to the loss of the limb as well as non-economic damages against the doctor and other staff at the clinic for allegedly dismissing her symptoms as psychosomatic.

The plaintiff was a freshman at OU when she went to the student health clinic, which was called Hudson Health Center at the time, in September 2007. She was suffering from nausea, chills and a spreading pain in her right arm. A doctor who conducted a brief exam dismissed her complaints of pain as a muscle strain due to exercise. He gave her a diagnosis of a throat infection and sent her back to her dorm.

But the arm pain grew worse and worse, as did her fever and chills. She returned to the clinic and told the doctor that she thought she might pass out from the pain. Apparently believing the plaintiff's pain and heavy breathing were due to homesickness, the doctor diagnosed her with hyperventilation and anxiety. She asked if she should go to a nearby hospital's emergency room but staff members said that was not necessary.

The woman's symptoms continued to worsen and she called her father to take her to the emergency room. An X-ray taken at the hospital revealed that she was suffering from necrotizing fasciitis, a rare flesh-eating disease. She underwent emergency surgery, during which surgeons removed her arm to prevent the infection from spreading to her vital organs.

The lawsuit accuses the doctor and other staff at Hudson of ignoring her symptoms and causing a "catastrophic injury" under Ohio law. The suit also seeks up to $1 million in non-economic damages for each staff member found liable for medical malpractice, and seeks to overturn Ohio's cap on malpractice damages as unconstitutional.

Source: The Athens News, "Attorneys for student who lost arm seek big damages from OU," Jim Phillips, Jan. 29, 2012