7 Doctors, One Rehab Unit and A Medical Center all Named in Lawsuit

The Centre Daily Times in Bellefonte, Pa., reported on November 6 that a 70 year-old Centre Hall woman is suing the Mount Nittany Medical Center, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation and seven physicians for failing to order the necessary test to properly diagnose a tumor on her spine. 

The patient, Judith Meyers, was left paralyzed after having an emergency surgery to remove a 4-centimeter schwannoma tumor from her spinal cord. 

The diagnosis, made in July of 2009, was allegedly made too late.  Had doctors performed neurological tests when she first entered the hospital in May, the outcome of the surgery could have been avoided.

Joel Fisher, the Philadelphia-based attorney for Meyers said, "That's really the sadness of the case, it was all preventable."

Myers was admitted to Mount Nittany Medical Center originally in May of 2009 with a chief complaint of abdominal pain and an overall weakness.  The suit states that several doctors examined Meyers during the approximate two-weeks that she was there. 

The medical malpractice suit stated that several of the physicians recommended neurological tests to look for, and systematically rule out, the cause of her symptoms.  However, the desire for the tests were only mentioned in their notes, none had gone so far as to actually order them for Meyers.

As her pain progressed into early June, Meyers was moved to HealthSouth for rehabilitation.  Though her legs were unable to move, Meyers only had "neuro consults" -  there were no tests done.

Feller said, "There was a two month delay of failing to do what they recognized they needed to do all along.  It was just never ordered for her, despite the doctors attending to her saying, 'We need to rule it out,' they just never performed it."

By July of 2009 Meyers was moved to a nursing home.  It was there that a doctor ordered that she undergo an MRI.

The suit said, "Despite (her) ongoing complaints and symptoms, defendants failed to perform appropriate examinations and testing that would have resulted in the timely diagnoses of (her) tumor and defendants' failures allowed her condition to deteriorate and progress beyond the point where she could be cured with surgical intervention without permanent and significant paralysis..."

Neither Mount Nittany Medical Center or HealthSouth has made a comment on the lawsuit. 

Doctors Sapina Mainali, John C. Coppes, Jessica Zangaretti and John Kevin Parry, from Mount Nittany Medical Center, are all named in the suit.  Doctors John E. Mateer, Colin P. McCaul and Paul A. Koberna, from HealthSouth, are the remaining doctors also filed against.

The facilities where each doctor worked have also been named: Comprehensive Rehab Services, Nittany Valley Medical and Geisinger Scenery Park.

Marcy Marshall,  spokesperson for the Geisinger Medical Center, stated, "We stand behind our physicians but we just haven't had the opportunity to review the suit that was filed this morning."

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