February 6, 2023
Attorney Jason Matzus is pursuing a case on behalf of a young man against WVU Medicine located in Morgantown, West Virginia, Uniontown Hospital located in Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and four radiologists who were employed by Foundation Radiology, Rayus Radiology, and Dynamic Imaging Associates.
The young man presented to WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital and underwent a CT scan, a CTA, an MRI, and an MRA of the head and neck over the course of two days. All of the studies were misread by four different radiologists over the course of those 2 days. When the patient’s condition got worse, a new, fifth radiologist ultimately looked at all of the prior imaging studies and correctly identified that the patient had a basilar artery thrombus with evolving ischemic infarct (stroke) in the brain stem.
Ultimately, the patient was diagnosed with a thrombotic occlusion of the left vertebral and basilar arteries. Unfortunately, due to the significant delay caused by the radiology malpractice, surgery to remove the clots was unsuccessful. As a result, the patient has suffered permanent paralysis, is confined to a wheelchair, and has a condition known as “locked in” syndrome. This means that the patient is cognitively aware of what is going on but cannot speak or otherwise communicate or verbalize his thoughts. The patient is unable to speak and can only communicate by using a Dynavox device, which is a computer-assisted technology platform for communication.
Ultimately, the delay in correctly diagnosing the patient’s condition by the radiologists at WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital caused a delay in performing a thrombectomy to address the artery thrombosis. Had the thrombectomy been performed sooner, the patient could have avoided suffering such profound and permanent brain injury, paralysis, and “locked in” syndrome.