A mother's $13m fight against Abrazo Health after alleged negligence left her life in tatters

The lawsuit details what Stephanie endured after she visited Abrazo Arrowhead Campus.

PUBLISHED OCT 11, 2024

According to Stephanie, she was in extreme pain and desperate for help when she arrived at the hospital.

Phoenix, Arizona: A $13m lawsuit has been filed against Abrazo Health by a Peoria mother who claims that negligent care at the hospital led to her becoming paralyzed.

The lawsuit details what 40-year-old Stephanie Van Emst, a mother of three, endured after she visited Abrazo Arrowhead Campus last year. Van Emst went to the hospital's emergency room in the middle of the night, suffering from severe back pain, shortness of breath, and numbness in her legs. Despite her distress, she says she was forced to wait over 36 hours before receiving an MRI, which ultimately revealed an abscess on her spine that required emergency surgery at another hospital.

Van Emst alleges that the delay in her diagnosis and treatment led to permanent paralysis from the waist down. (Still from Arizona's Family)

Van Emst alleges that the delay in her diagnosis and treatment led to permanent paralysis from the waist down. "Every ounce of independence has been ripped away overnight," she said, describing her struggles with daily life and her inability to take care of her children as she once did.

The lawsuit filed last week accuses Abrazo Health of failing to provide medical care and treatment that met appropriate standards recognized by healthcare providers in the state. According to Van Emst, her condition could have been avoided if the hospital had acted more swiftly.

The lawsuit details what 40-year-old Stephanie Van Emst, a mother of three, endured after she visited Abrazo Arrowhead Campus last year.

Supporting her claim, a neurologist’s opinion states that had the MRI and subsequent surgery been performed sooner, Van Emst might have walked again. "It’s not my opinion, it’s the opinion of a neurologist saying she sat there too long without getting the MRI," Van Emst's attorney emphasized.

Van Emst now faces a life drastically altered by her condition. “There’s the mom I was before, and there’s the mom I am now,” Van Emst said, expressing her grief over losing her independence. She added, “My kids shouldn’t have to live like this, and they shouldn’t have to take on my burdens because of somebody else’s mistake.”

The outcome of this case could have significant implications for both patient care standards and accountability in Arizona's healthcare system.