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Lawsuit Over Burst Appendix Settled

January 31, 2006

Michelle Reed faced severe pain before military doctors determined she had a ruptured appendix, not a sexually transmitted infection, according to a federal malpractice claim recently settled by the Department of the Air Force.

Reed, the wife of an Air Force captain, said the misdiagnosis cost her a chance to have more children. She sought medical help for severe abdominal pain at Peterson Air Force Base in September 2003 and visited the clinic four times within a week before being admitted to the Air Force Academy Hospital, according to the claim filed in 2004 and recently settled for $155,000.

Reed's symptoms started Sept. 15, 2003, when she awoke with abdominal pain. Later that day, she went to the medical clinic at Peterson Air Force base, where she was given a 'GI cocktail' - a mixture of medicines, including an antacid, used to treat heartburn or other gastrointestinal problems.

No tests were ordered, according to Reed's claim, filed by Colorado Springs attorney William Fischer.

Reed returned to the clinic with her husband. The pain had worsened and she was vomiting and dehydrated. The doctor did a pelvic exam. The doctor explained that pelvic inflammatory disease is caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia, Reed said.

Reed said after the doctor's pronouncement, her husband looked at her and said, 'Honey, I didn't do anything.' She said they both denied the possibility of a sexually transmitted infection and neither ever doubted the other.

The doctor ordered lab tests from the exam and prescribed antibiotics, according to the claim. The claim also says Reed was never asked about her sexual history; she also said she was not given a pregnancy test to rule out an ectopic pregnancy.

In a recent interview, she said she was embarrassed at the doctor's assessment and thought the medical staff was looking at her and her husband, wondering: Who's the unfaithful one?

Reed went to the clinic two more times before being sent to the hospital Sept. 19, according to the claim. The PID diagnosis was not changed. Two days later, it was determined that Reed's appendix was the problem, and she was taken into surgery, according to the claim. Her right ovary and fallopian tube were so severely damaged by the appendix rupture and subsequent infection that they were removed during surgery, Reed said.

She was hospitalized for about a month, most of it in intensive care. Reed said she also was told before being discharged that her tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia were negative.