An Akron family was awarded $4.5 million by a Summit County judge after a jury ruled doctors severely misdiagnosed a woman’s medical issue, leading to her death.
Nakeyia McMichael, who had lupus, died June 9, 2012, of a brain swell. She was a 33-year-old nurse with a husband and three children. She was diagnosed with lupus when she was a teenager.
According to court documents, doctors at the Emergency Department of Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center had diagnosed her complaints — which caused her severe pain that she labeled a 10 out of 10 — as a migraine headache.
In 2010 and 2011 medical visits, doctors at the same ER and the Emergency Department at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus had correctly diagnosed her headaches as brain swells and properly treated them. She was advised to seek medical help if she ever had another headache so severe.
At the time of her misdiagnosis, Akron General’s ER was operated by General Emergency Medical Specialists Inc., also known as GEMS. Dr. John Pakiela was the attending and supervising physician.
The trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court lasted two weeks. GEMS has asked Judge Paul Gallagher for a new trial and to delay the multi-million-dollar payout until appeals are complete.
“The trauma that this family has endured was completely preventable, as it had been on two prior occasions,” said Nick DiCello, one of the McMichael family’s attorneys. “This close family has been irreparably harmed by this tragedy, and the community has lost a wonderful mother, nurse, and person.”
Cleveland Clinic Akron General spokeswoman Stephanie York declined to comment Tuesday, explaining that she had not had a chance to review the lawsuit.