A Maine medical malpractice lawsuit filed on May 15, 2026 in federal court alleges, in part:
This is a medical malpractice action that arises out of a radiologist’s failure to diagnose critical findings on a patient’s May 29, 2023 brain imaging at the MaineHealth hospital previously-known as “Southern Maine Health Care” in Biddeford, Maine. Even though the imaging had been ordered in the emergency department to check for signs of stroke in a 63-year-old man, the radiologist failed to identify a dangerous blood clot that was at risk of dislodging and blocking the blood supply to the patient’s brain. As a result of the radiologist’s negligent misread of the imaging, the 63-year-old man was discharged from the hospital, and nine hours later, the untreated blood clot dislodged and progressed into a devastating stroke that left him with permanent injury.
On the morning of May 29, 2023, 63-year-old Jeffrey Sayward was in Maine when he experienced an episode of syncope. An ambulance transported him to the emergency department at the MaineHealth hospital then-known as Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford, Maine.
Mr. Sayward arrived at Southern Maine Health Care’s emergency department at approximately 10:10 a.m. In triage, his acuity level was assessed as “emergent.”
MaineHealth emergency medicine attending physician Michael Burla, D.O. ordered a “CT Angiogram Head Neck” imaging scan pursuant to the stroke protocol in order to “evaluate for life threatening CNS pathology such as aneurysm, acute arterial occlusion, thrombus and/or dissection.”
Dr. [Eric] Sax failed to note a critical finding apparent on Mr. Sayward’s CTA imaging: a dark filling defect of the left vertebral artery:
The left vertebral artery is a major blood vessel supplying oxygen to the posterior brain. The high-grade stenosis demonstrated on the imaging in this area was consistent with the appearance of a clot/thrombus that was at risk of dislodgement, which would put the patient at risk of infarct (stroke) if the clot/thrombus traveled “downstream” to block blood supply to one of the smaller vessels branching off the left vertebral artery.
This was a critical finding that a competent radiologist was compelled to detect, document in his report, and immediately communicate to the emergency room providers. Dr. Sax did not do so. Dr. Sax’s report incorrectly stated that the left vertebral artery was “without evidence of stenosis.”
Falsely reassured, Mr. Sayward and his wife left the hospital at approximately 12:57 p.m.
Not long after 7 p.m., Mr. Sayward suddenly felt weak and unwell. The Saywards called 911, and paramedics responded at approximately 7:20 p.m. Due to his apparent stroke symptoms, the paramedics transported him directly to MaineHealth’s Level I Trauma Center: Maine Medical Center in Portland.
The providers at Maine Medical Center compared the 8:36 p.m. imaging from Portland to what had been taken at 11:20 at Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford. They saw what Dr. Sax had missed nine hours earlier: the thrombus (clot) filling defect that had been in the left vertebral artery, as risk of becoming dislodged and turning into a stroke.
The 8:36 p.m. imaging from Maine Medical Center in Portland demonstrated that thrombus had dislodged from the left vertebral artery and traveled through the basilar artery and left superior cerebellar artery:
The injuries from the resulting stroke were devastating. Mr. Sayward remained hospitalized for a week, and then required a lengthy inpatient rehabilitation at New England Rehabilitation Hospital. Despite extensive PT and OT, Mr. Sayward suffered permanent impairments due to his stroke.
The Maine federal medical malpractice lawsuit seeks “damages, including past and future medical expenses, lost earnings and earning capacity, emotional distress, pain and suffering, lost enjoyment of life, permanent injury and
impairment, punitive damages, interest, costs, and such other and further remedies as this Court deems just and equitable.”
If you or a loved one may have been injured as a result of medical negligence in Maine, you should promptly find a Maine medical malpractice lawyer who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a Maine medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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