A $5.1 million settlement has ended Ryan v. Shih, an Essex County medical malpractice suit on behalf of a woman whose stroke was misdiagnosed as a psychiatric episode.
Patricia O’Brien was brought to Morristown Medical Center on Nov. 9, 2013, after experiencing shortness of breath, confusion and incoherence. Then 53, O’Brien complained of a dull headache and an altered mental status. She was first seen by a doctor two hours after arriving and was placed under psychiatric observation. Her condition deteriorated, and she was sent for a CT scan of the head six hours after arriving at the hospital. Throughout this time, her family repeatedly informed the medical staff that they believed she was having a stroke, according to their lawyer, Bruce Nagel.
