For failure to diagnose Emilee Williams’ rare health disorder in a timely manner, Mercy Clinic Springfield Communities has been accused of negligence and ordered by a jury to pay $28.9 million to Williams. Because of the medical center’s delay in diagnosing her with Wilson’s disease, Williams claims her disorder became more severe — so severe that she “now must be fed through a tube.”
For failure to diagnose Emilee Williams’ rare health disorder in a timely manner, Mercy Clinic Springfield Communities has been accused of negligence and ordered by a jury to pay $28.9 million to Williams. Because of the medical center’s delay in diagnosing her with Wilson’s disease, Williams claims her disorder became more severe — so severe that she “now must be fed through a tube.”
Born in 1992, Williams was pursuing a doctorate degree in physical therapy when she began experiencing “fatigue, tremors, panic attacks, insomnia and other issues,” prompting her to visit Dr. Elene Pilapil, a doctor at Mercy Clinic Springfield Communities back in 2012. During the visit, Williams’ mother, who joined her on her visit, insisted that her daughter “receive an MRI and neurological workup,” according to court documents. However, Dr. Pilapil declined the MRI and told Williams that her symptoms were merely related to anxiety and depression. She adjusted Williams’ “use of medication she was taking for those conditions,” and sent her on her way.
According to the lawsuit, Williams’ condition only got worse. As her condition began to deteriorate, Williams and her mother “repeatedly told Pilapil about her ongoing issues to no avail.” Williams even returned to Pilapil’s office a couple times, once in May of 2013, and another in June of 2013, claiming her condition was worsening and that she was experiencing new “issues such as acting drunk, falling due to balance problems and difficulty with handwriting due to tremors.” During both visits, Williams and her mother “requested neurological testing.” Eventually, Pilapil conceded and ordered an MRI of Williams’ brain in August of 2013. According to the lawsuit, the results of the MRI “showed severe damage to Williams’ basal ganglia, caused by Wilson’s disease.”
Wondering what Wilson’s disease is? Well, it’s “a disorder that causes too much copper to accumulate in vital organs, such as the liver and brain.” Unfortunately for Williams, because of the delay in treatment and diagnosis, the lawsuit states:
Emilee Williams “now suffers from severe Wilson’s disease and the sequela of Wilson’s disease, including but not limited to severe brain damage, tetraplegia, dysarthria, dystonia, dysphagia, severe motor and speech impairment, tremors, sporadic contracture of her extremities, and she has to be fed through a PEG tube.”
As a result of the delay in care and diagnosis, Williams sued Mercy Clinic Springfield Communities and Dr. Pilapil, in Greene County Circuit Court back in July 2015. However, Pilapil “was later dismissed from the suit.” According to court documents, the lawsuit argued that “Mercy Springfield was negligent for, among other things, failing to order a neurological consultation and MRI in a timely manner and failing to review William’s prior medical history.”
However, Mercy Springfield pushed back, arguing that “Williams hadn’t proved that the health system deviated from its normal standard of care and that Williams’ “medical records speak for themselves.” That didn’t stop a jury from siding with Williams, though.
According to reports, the $28.9 million judgment includes the following:
- $511,000 for past economic damages, including past medical damages
- $1 million for past non-economic damages
- $21 million for future medical damages
- $3.2 million for future economic damages, excluding future medical damages
- $3.2 million for future non-economic damages.
Sources:
Jury Orders Mercy Springfield To Pay $28.9 Million In Negligence Lawsuit
Missouri Woman On Feeding Tube Wins $28.9M In Suit Against Health Provider
Join the conversation!