$4 Million Sought for Slow Diagnosis of Brain Bleed
11-27-2019 21:50:00


RICHMOND, Va. (CN) – Kaiser and Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center misdiagnosed a brain bleed for three weeks, leaving a woman with cognitive impairments, she claims in the Circuit Court for Prince William County.

Ayda Alp sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., dba Kaiser Permanente, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C., dba Kaiser Permanente, six doctors, a physican’s assistant and Potomac Hospital Corporation of Prince William, dba Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, for medical malpractice.

Alp saw a Kaiser doctor on Oct. 22, 2018 for “complaints of headache, cough and right sided ear pain,” and was diagnosed with sinusitis and sent home with prescriptions, according to the complaint.

Between Oct. 22 and Nov. 9, Alp saw at all six defendant doctors, whose various diagnoses included migraine, sinusitis, a headache, a possible urinary tract infection, nausea and vomiting, according to the complaint.

Alp’s symptoms during that period included a “sudden onset right-sided severe headache,” followed by fainting and an inability to follow verbal commands on Oct. 26, and “crying and screaming due to severe head pain,” on Nov. 9. But neither Kaiser nor Sentara correctly diagnosed her condition until Nov. 12, according to the complaint.

After Alp was found “foaming at the mouth and unresponsive,” on Nov. 12, she was taken, for the second time, to Sentara, where she had surgery for a brain hemorrhage, according to the complaint. On Dec. 7, doctors also discovered a brain aneurysm, it says.

“Mrs. Alp continues to experience deficits in cognitive function, including memory problems, visual impairment, fluid build-up in her brain, inability to drive a motor vehicle and inability to engage in gainful employment,” the complaint states.

Ayda Alp seeks $4 million plus pre-judgment interest, costs of suit and a jury trial. She is represented by William E. Artz in Tysons Corner and Frank Sofocleous in Falls Church.
CL19008704-00