Kaiser takes seven months and four doctors to diagnose a broken ankle

Man claims Kaiser Permanente staff misdiagnosed his broken ankle for seven months, sues for $49,900
Aimee Green
OregonLive.com
June 16, 2014

A man who says he broke his ankle while playing soccer is suing Kaiser Permanente for nearly $50,000, claiming various medical staff repeatedly told him he only had a sprain -- and his fracture went undetected for seven painful months.
A Kaiser spokesman couldn’t offer an immediate comment Monday. But according to Andrew P. Newcomb’s lawsuit, Newcomb went to Kaiser’s Tualatin medical offices on Nov. 9, 2011, seeking treatment for an injury he suffered during an indoor soccer game. The next day, he was given an X-ray and physician assistant Jeffrey Myers told him his ankle was not broken, the suit states.
“...Myers diagnosed plaintiff Newcomb as having a ‘severe sprain,’ and recommended rest, ice, compression and elevation of the foot, and Advil, up to 500 mg twice a day with food,” states the suit, filed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
According to the suit:

• Two and a half months later, Newcomb’s ankle continued to bother him -- causing him to limp and use crutches. So he made another visit to the Tualatin medical offices. Dr. Louis H. Liu ordered an MRI and recommended physical therapy after diagnosing Newcomb with “arthralgia” -- commonly known as joint pain -- of Newcomb’s ankle or foot.

• Two months later, when his ankle had still not improved, Newcomb went in again and Dr. Christopher Jason Rae, an orthopedic specialist at Kaiser, diagnosed Newcomb with a sprain.

• More than one and a half months later, Newcomb’s ankle still ailed him. So he spoke to Rae, who ordered an MRI and again diagnosed Newcomb with joint pain.

• Less than two weeks after that, Newcomb’s ankle was still hurting so he saw Dr. Kimberly Workman, a Kaiser orthopedic specialist, who looked at Newcomb’s November 2011 x-ray and diagnosed him with a “closed fracture foot, talus." It was June 13, 2012, and more than seven months had passed since Newcomb had been injured.

Newcomb underwent surgery to repair his ankle and after some physical therapy, his ankle recovered, the suit states.
Newcomb seeks $3,500 for medical and care costs and $46,400 for months of “continuous physical pain and suffering, difficulty sleeping, anxiety, emotional distress and depression,” the suit states.
The suit was filed by Portland attorney Danna Fogarty.
-- Aimee Green