Woman sues hospital after she says doctors missed her MS diagnosis

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV/Gray News) - A Missouri woman says her multiple sclerosis diagnosis was a long one that has led to her filing a lawsuit against St. Luke’s Health System and two neurologists.

“I started seeing a neurologist probably in 2007 for migraine headaches,” Sara Allison said. “But after a couple of years of treatment, she suspected something more was going on.”

Her newly filed lawsuit describes a cluster of new symptoms that began emerging in 2012.

The reported symptoms included slower cognitive functioning, changes to vision, difficulties speaking and immense fatigue.

She said her doctor ordered an MRI and it showed white spots on her brain.

According to her lawsuit, she directly questioned her doctor whether it could be MS.

She alleges he dismissed those concerns.

“He just said, ‘No, Sara. It’s not. There’s no way. It’s a migraine. This is typical for migraine. You don’t need to worry about these white spots,’” Allison said.

In her lawsuit, Allison argues more sophisticated testing wasn’t done, despite her questioning.

The filing describes how the years rolled by, into a full decade of recurring neurological problems.

As Allison pushed back, the lawsuit claims she was eventually told to seek another doctor.

St. Luke’s Health System released the following statement regarding the situation:

“Saint Luke’s is deeply committed to providing the highest level of care to every patient. While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, we can say we are proud of the exceptional care we provide and have the utmost confidence in our physicians who dedicate their lives to serving our patients.”

Eventually, Allison said she went to get a second opinion with another specialist who ordered a battery of tests and made a diagnosis that she indeed have MS.

Allison believes she has lost a lot of time for treatment — time that could have made a difference in her life.

“As time went by, you know, you start to chip away at your life,” she said. “There goes my career. There goes traveling, and there goes having kids if you’re going to do that.”

Allison said her days are now filled with therapy. She works on things like balance and recognition. She plays the piano, but it’s more frustrating than it was years ago. Trying to read the music as she plays has become more difficult.

“My life completely changed in a 5 to 10-year period,” Allison said.

She said she is learning to adapt but wonders what life would be like if she had an earlier diagnosis.

“I want the doctors to understand that there is a very real consequence in my life for how this happened,” Allison said. “There was a series of decisions that were made that I really didn’t have any say in, and yet here I am with the broken pieces of my life, trying to put it all back together.”

Allison said she wants others to learn from her experience.

According to medical experts, if you are seeking a second opinion, get all your medical records to share with the new physician. This includes labs and test results. Insurance general won’t pay for duplicated tests.

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