The victim of this medical malpractice case was age 17 when she went to her pediatrician’s office on March 2, 2001 with severe headaches.  She had an elevated white blood cell count and other laboratory evidence of infection.  No imaging of the head was done.

Eleven days later, plaintiff was still feeing ill and sought treatment at the a local Emergency Department on March 13, 2001 for neck and abdominal pain.  She was discharged with a prescription for analgesics.

On March 15, 2001, plaintiff returned to the Emergency Department, with complaints of severe throbbing headaches, severe photophobia, nausea, vomiting, decreased intake and lethargy.  Plaintiff was seen by defendant; his assessment was dehydration and migraine headache.  Plaintiff was admitted to the hospital for observation.  No imaging tests were done. 

The following morning, the plaintiff was noted to have periorbital swelling, bilateral proptosis, and worsening symptoms.  She saw several consultants, and was emergently transferred that afternoon to a Boston area teaching hospital for a presumed orbital abscess in the left eye.  Magnetic resonance imaging of the head demonstrated sinusitis and bilateral cavernous sinus thrombosis.  Her course was further complicated by meningitis and stroke.  The plaintiff was left with significant medical problems, including blindness in the left eye and hearing loss.

Claim was brought against her pediatrician who failed to order appropriate head imaging tests which would have revealed an acute sinus infection, which would have been easily treated with IV antibiotics.  Plaintiff was prepared to prove the as a result of the negligence of the defendant, plaintiff’s sphenoid sinusitis advanced to bacterial meningitis, leading to her stroke and loss of vision. 

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