Timothy Howard, 48, a former middle school administrator from Valencia, went to his doctor in October 2007 with intermittent blindness in his right eye. His primary doctor referred him to an ophthalmologist, who found no abnormalities. For several weeks, Howard continued having vision symptoms, as well as headaches and pain in his neck. On thanksgiving evening two years ago, Howard experienced complete vision lost in his left eye. Howard went to Urgent Care, where a doctor diagnosed him with an ocular migraine, but agreed to run a CT scan. While waiting for the results of the scan, Howard suffered a stroke. Doctors at the emergency room diagnosed a carotid tear (dissection) as the cause of the stroke. Last week arbitrators ruled that Kaiser Permanente will pay Howard $5 million for the misdiagnosis.
According to a suit filed by Howard, Kaiser physicians did not properly diagnose the cause of Howard's episodic blindness, headaches and other symptoms. Instead of diagnosing Howard's tear in the carotid artery, physicians said Howard had a migraine. After Howard's stroke two years ago, an infection related to his treatment resulted in both of Howard's legs being amputated. Howard has no use of his left arm and has left-sided weakness. He has not been able to return to work since the stroke and is wheelchair bound.
Howard's attorney argued that physicians should have ruled out a possible carotid artery tear before making the determination that he was suffering from migraine headaches. The most common cause of episodic blindness in men under 60 is a carotid tear. It Howard had been treated promptly, the artery would have healed, and Howard would have not suffered a stroke and resulting infection that caused him to lose both of his legs.
Kaiser did not take any disciplinary action against any physicians at the hospital in Panorama City. The $5 million award will cover Howard's ongoing medical care costs and lost earnings. Howard and his wife were both awarded $250,000 each in pain and suffering - the maximum amount allowed for noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases.
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