Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Wiser v. Peterson, No. 69DUCV162025 (Minn. Dist. Ct. St. Louis Cnty. Jan. 18, 2019).

Sharon Wiser, 62, had a history of migraine headaches. After experiencing right-sided headaches over a twoweek period, she went to the Essentia Health Duluth Clinic. She reported her headache history and told clinic staff she was suffering from blurred vision. She was discharged with a diagnosis of migraine headache and a prescription for Toradol. The next day, she consulted a family physician, who advised her to follow up if her symptoms did not improve.

A week later, Wiser returned to Duluth Clinic, where internist Alan Peterson ordered a CT scan of Wiser’shead. The next night, however, Wiser went to an emergency room, complaining of a significant headache. Emergency physician John Holst examined Wiser, diagnosed migraine headache, and instructed her to follow up with her primary physician. A few days later, Wiser was told that Peterson had looked at the CT scan images and maintained his diagnosis of migraine headache. Within two weeks, Wiser was hospitalized and diagnosed as having temporal arteritis, resulting in permanent loss of vision in her right eye. A restaurant owner, her ability to work has been significantly diminished.

Wiser sued Peterson, Holst, and Duluth Clinic, alleging failure to timely diagnose and treat temporal arteritis. The plaintiff asserted that the severity and duration of her headaches should have prompted the defendants to consider a differential diagnosis of temporal arteritis and order specific tests, such as an erythrocyte sedimentation rate test.

The defense argued that Wiser had failed to follow her medical providers’ instructions and had not fully described her symptoms and past medical history. The jury awarded approximately $2.1 million, apportioning liability at 65 percent to Peterson, 25 percent to Wiser, and 10 percent to Holst.

Plaintiff counsel: J. Mark Catron, Nathaniel A. Dahl, Michael Kemp, and Shawn Taylor, all of St. Paul, Minn.
Plaintiff experts: David McAlpine, family medicine, Phoenix; and Henry O’Halloran, neuro-ophthalmology, San Diego.