Woman Claims Kaiser Docs Missed Her Broken Hip
3-24-2017 19:05:00


PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) – A woman claims Kaiser doctors missed her broken hip and prescribed pain medication instead of doing further testing, in a $2.2 million medical malpractice lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Catherine Shauklas sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest dba Kaiser Permanente, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Tara Wayt, D.O., Dr. Debra Kaye Davis, and Dr. Scott Emery.
Shauklas says she was shopping in Home Depot when her legs gave out, causing her to fall. Her left knee immediately hurt, and she went to Kaiser 11 days later for joint pain, tenderness, hip pain, and an inability to bear weight on her left leg.
Kaiser did a CT scan and took an x-ray, but determined there was no fracture and prescribed her a knee brace and Percocet for pain, according to the complaint.
When her hip pain did not go away, Shauklas says, she went back to Kaiser a couple days later and saw Dr. Davis. But instead of doing more tests to determine the cause of her pain, Dr. Davis prescribed her a different pain medicine, told her to elevate and ice her leg, and to use crutches or a wheelchair to get around.
Shauklas claims this pattern continued until mid-December, when Kaiser refused to refill her previously prescribed pain pills. Barely able to get around on her own, Shauklas says, she went to Kaiser again and was seen by Dr. Nguyen, who took an x-ray, promptly diagnosed her with a broken hip, and scheduled her for surgery.
Dr. Nguyen is not a party to the complaint.
After the first surgery, Shauklas says, she had to have another procedure when the surgical screws broke, preventing her fracture from fully healing. Making matters worse, her doctors told her she will likely suffer weakness in her hip and recurring pain flares for the rest of her life because Kaiser delayed initial treatment so long, the complaint states.
Shauklas seeks $2.2 million in non-economic damages for medical malpractice, as well as reimbursement for past and future medical and physical therapy expenses, and economic damages for her inability to maintain her home and property. 
She is represented by Brent Goodfellow with Johnstone & Goodfellow of McMinnville.
16CV38098