A Hillsborough County jury has awarded $70.8 million to a woman who suffered permanent injuries after providers at a Tampa General Hospital free-standing emergency department failed to diagnose and treat a life-threatening condition.
Chiaka Stewart, then 38, was transported by ambulance to TGH’s Brandon Healthplex in July 2021 due to a severe headache she described as “the worst she had ever had,” according to court documents. Despite risk factors for blood clots, nurse practitioner Heather Anderson did not order a CT scan or consult a neurologist, according to court documents.
Instead, Stewart underwent bloodwork, received a COVID-19 test and was administered a “headache cocktail” before her discharge about four hours later…