A woman is suing a doctor and his practice for allegedly failing to properly diagnose her wrist pain in 2012 and 2013.
Erica Mancuso filed a complaint on June 25 in Cook County Circuit Court against Dr. John McClellan and Bone and Joint Physicians.
According to the lawsuit, on Aug. 23, 2012, Mancuso went to McClellan complaining of pain in her left wrist. After an MRI showed a left ulnar abutment syndrome, McClellan recommended a left ulnar shortening surgery. On Dec. 20, 2012, a CT scan showed the same problem, the lawsuit states, so Mancuso underwent the surgery eight days later.
A month later, however, severe pain materialized in the wrist, and McClellan prescribed anti-inflammatory medications and steroid injections. But the pain continued, the lawsuit states.
On Oct. 31, 2013, Mancuso saw an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Illinois Hospital, who ordered an X-ray and found a "visible fracture gap between the proximal and distal ulnar segments as well as plate loosening proximally and malunion and nonunion of the ulna," the lawsuit states.
On Dec. 5, 2013, a bone scane of Mancuso's wrist showed an infection of the wrist plate. On Jan. 3, 2014, the university doctor performed surgery to remove the hardware from her left forearm, perform a bone biopsy and place an antibiotic spacer, the lawsuit states. Another follow-up surgery was performed on March 7, 2014.
Mancuso alleges that, from Dec. 28, 2012, to June 26, 2013, McClellan failed to diagnose her with "nonunion, post-operative infection, or any other injury related to the ulnar shortening surgery."
As a result, she suffered further injury, pain and suffering, and medical expenses.
The plaintiff, citing medical negligence, seeks damages in excess of $100,000, plus costs. She is represented by David A. Axelrod and Jason M. Kleinman of David A. Axelrod and Associates in Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court case number 2015L006500.