Crime
Doctor Rushing to Get Off Work Injected Rubbing Alcohol Into Woman Instead of Anesthetic, Suit Says
An Oregon woman has filed a lawsuit claiming a simple podiatry appointment left her with chemical burns, dying tissue and permanent nerve damage because her doctor allegedly injected rubbing alcohol instead of anesthetic before pulling out her toenails.
KGW reported on Monday, July 6, that Sarah Blackman is suing Kaiser Permanente for $13 million over the procedure conducted in January at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro.
The Washington County resident visited Dr. Colin Mizuo to have two ingrown toenails removed, a procedure that typically calls for a lidocaine injection. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, Mizuo injected 4 milliliters of rubbing alcohol into each toe and removed her toenails with no anesthetic.
“Ms. Blackman was in agony throughout, audibly screamed and cried, and begged that the second toe not be treated” but Mizuo allegedly told her she should “just get it over with” and said he was in a rush to leave the clinic, as per the official documents obtained by Law & Crime.
The filing says no one at Kaiser revealed the mix-up for months.
Blackman followed her aftercare instructions at home, but her toes burned and throbbed, her feet swelled, and the skin on the treated toes began to ooze and peel. The lawsuit calls rubbing alcohol a “perfect cellular killer,” as per KGW.
Nine days after the appointment, she arrived at Kaiser’s emergency department, where baffled staff admitted her for two days and administered IV antibiotics for a suspected infection while her tissue was dying.
Despite visiting the doctors multiple times, Blackman went on to endure “excruciating pain” and could barely walk because of the wounds on her feet, the suit said. Kaiser’s head of podiatry finally disclosed the error in March, promising a “letter of explanation,” which the patient claims never arrived.
Her chart, which came with the email, described the incident as an “unfortunate mistake,” but the Blackman’s lawsuit labels it “torture.”
THV11 reported that the lawsuit also names Blackman’s husband, Jason Fleskes, as a plaintiff who is seeking $1 million of the total damages for loss of society and companionship.
