An Arizona woman says a medical mistake led to a life-threatening overdose after records show SimonMed admitted to giving her the wrong medication during an MRI scan in 2021.
“It was just so egregious,” she said. “She was immediately rendered unconscious,” Rachel Fitzpatrick, the patient’s attorney, said.
The allegations are detailed in a medical malpractice lawsuit Fitzpatrick recently filed against the imaging company.
It happened at the Thompson Peak SimonMed Imaging Center in Scottsdale. The patient asked ABC15 not to publish her name to protect her privacy but said she wanted the public to hear her story.
“Not only did they give her the wrong medication altogether, but they also administered it in an excessive dose,” Fitzpatrick said. “Such an excessive dose that no one should ever receive that under any circumstances in one go.”
According to the lawsuit and the patient’s medical records, a SimonMed tech accidentally gave the patient a large dose of the sedative Diazepam (Valium) instead of contrast media, which is often used during MRI scans to enhance imaging.
The lawsuit says even the ER doctor couldn’t believe it, and wrote in the patient’s medical notes, “I question the validity of the medication dosages, as in order to provide 50 mg of Valium, the nurse would have had to draw up medication from a large number of vials, which would be a highly atypical practice.”
The doctor said he then called the imaging center who confirmed the patient “did indeed receive 50 mg of Valium,” according to the lawsuit.
“For someone to get five times the recommended (FDA) max dosage is extraordinary and extraordinary negligence,” Fitzpatrick said. “There are procedures or there should be that are in place to ensure that this precise thing doesn’t happen.”
The lawsuit says the overdose caused the patient to go back on antiseizure medication and delayed her IVF fertility treatments for a year.
“This changed my client’s life in extraordinary ways,” said Fitzpatrick. “It exacerbated her existing medical conditions. It created new medical conditions.”
In court documents, SimonMed admits the patient was provided with Diazepam (Valium) instead of contrast media but denies the other allegations in the lawsuit.
Other incidents at SimonMed
The Scottsdale incident raises more questions and accusations about a lack of patient oversight at SimonMed, one of the Valley’s largest medical imaging providers, after an ABC15 Investigation in October 2023 exposed the company had been operating unlicensed and unregulated by the state health department.
SimonMed had a private office exemption from health department licensing, at the time, which prevented accountability in another shocking and what experts called preventable MRI Incident at the SimonMed in Avondale.
“I would describe it as a pretty catastrophic failure,” said MRI safety expert Tobias Gilk.
According to a Department of Correction incident report, a SimonMed technician told a prison guard not to remove the metal shackles around Arizona inmate Lacey Windust’s waist which caused her to be stuck to an MRI machine in May 2022.
MRI machines are essentially giant magnets.
“That magnetic field grabbed hold of the chain … and essentially pulled the prisoner up against the MRI,” said Gilk.
“It’s unbelievable,” the inmate’s sister, Tawny Sonn, said.
Windust was taken to the emergency room and the prison took photos of her injuries. The images showed a deep cut on her hand that required stitches, bruises, and imprints from where the metal shackles pulled on her body.
A prison guard also reported being stuck to the machine because he was carrying his gun.
“Seems indicative of a culture where there is not the proper oversight happening to ensure patient safety,” said Fitzpatrick.
Phone call with SimonMed employee after patient overdose
In the incident involving her client, at the SimonMed Imaging in Scottsdale, the court filing detailed a phone call the patient recorded with a SimonMed employee the day after she was rushed to the Emergency Room.
“What happened is the technologist, instead of grabbing the contrast, um, she grabbed on accident a sedative… which was Diazepam,” the SimonMed employee told the patient on the phone call.
The SimonMed employee then admitted they made a critical mistake, according to the lawsuit and copy of the recorded phone call provided to ABC15.
“It was a big error and we do apologize,” the SimonMed employee said in the phone call.
During the same call, the SimonMed employee said the company would cover the patient’s hospital bill.
Fitzpatrick said SimonMed never fulfilled its promise to pay her client’s hospital bill and later sent her client a bill demanding payment for her incomplete MRI scan.
“Reminding her of the worst day of her life when she was overdosed with Valium,” said Fitzpatrick. “We have to hold them accountable.”
Eleven SimonMed Imaging Centers are now licensed with the state health department, and ABC15 has learned all the company’s Arizona locations will be licensed soon. This means the health department can once again investigate complaints at SimonMed.
SimonMed sent ABC15 a lengthy statement saying all incidents are fully investigated but citing HIPAA for why it can’t comment on specific details in this case.
Read SimonMed’s full statement below:
“First and foremost, we want to emphasize that at SimonMed Imaging, our primary focus is and always has been on providing exceptional healthcare services to our valued patients. With over 20 years of service in the communities of Arizona, we strive to uphold the highest standards of medical care through state-of-the-art technology and a dedicated team of experienced professionals.
We prioritize patient well-being and safety above all else. We adhere to strict regulatory requirements and guidelines and strive to continually ensure that our employees are properly trained to handle all possible patient and care-related situations, As a healthcare provider committed to the highest standards of quality and patient safety, we understand the importance of transparency, responsibility, and accountability. Any incidents that occur are fully investigated and all such incidents are reported to the appropriate regulatory agencies and accrediting bodies, consistent with the obligations imposed under HIPAA and other state and federal laws and regulations.
We again want to emphasize our commitment to the provision of exceptional healthcare services to all patients and to our adherence to all applicable regulatory requirements and guidelines, including all reporting obligations. Our duties and responsibilities relating to patient privacy under HIPAA prevent us from providing any information regarding any patient experience or interaction at SimonMed and from responding to questions regarding any incident that may have occurred at our facilities and/or the actions we may have taken in response thereto.”
Contact ABC15 Investigator Jennifer Kovaleski at Jennifer.Kovaleski@abc15.com
