Jury Awards $6.69 Million to Former Coney Island Hospital Employee After Hospital Failed to Diagnose Her Stroke

On July 1, 2026, a Kings County jury awarded $6.69 Million to a mother and former hospital worker who became permanently disabled as a result of Coney Island Hospital’s failure to diagnose and treat her stroke during an emergency room presentation in July 2018. Astonishingly, prior to the incident, our client worked as a unit clerk at the very hospital that was found to be at fault for her injuries.

However, as a result of the hospital’s stroke misdiagnosis, our client suffered from debilitating injuries, is permanently paralyzed on her left side, can no longer walk, and relies entirely on the care of her family members, including her son, who was 15 years old at the time.

Neal Bhushan, a Partner, and Rikki Dascal, Associate, of The Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm, LLP represented the family in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Coney Island Hospital and New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation, obtaining the $6.69 Million jury verdict, including $4.01 Million for past and future pain and suffering, on behalf of the family less than an hour and a half after closing statements were delivered.

When our client first presented to the Emergency Room in Coney Island Hospital eight years ago, she presented with complaints of weakness in both legs, pain in her left calf, and extremely elevated blood pressure. Even though our client complained of weakness combined with high blood pressure, a common early-indicator of stroke, our client never received a thorough neurological assessment, allowing her stroke to progress significantly.

Instead, our client, who is a friend of Neal Bhushan from growing up in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, was discharged that very evening with lackluster instructions to follow up with her doctor in 2-3 days and to return to the emergency department if she had complaints of chest pain, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing.

At the advice of her doctors, our client returned home where her stroke was left untreated and significantly worsened. The very next evening, our client was rushed to the hospital by ambulance after exhibiting with left sided facial droop, left arm weakness, and an elevated blood pressure reading. Upon arrival, our client was diagnosed with an ischemic stroke on the right side of her brain, and due to the stroke, our client suffered from permanent injuries and now requires 24-hour assistive care.

Mr. Bhushan and Ms. Dascal tried this case through verdict, explaining that when a patient presents with stroke-like symptoms such as weakness or neurological deficits, doctors must take extra steps to determine whether or not a patient is suffering from a stroke immediately.

With the support of qualified emergency room and neurological experts, Mr. Bhushan and Ms. Dascal proved that given our client’s complaints of weakness, she should have received a thorough neurological exam to determine if the weakness was a caused by a stroke. This assessment could have been conducted using a simple strength exam to determine if the patient exhibits the same level of strength on both sides of their body. For example, the patient could be asked to squeeze a doctor’s hands so that the doctor can feel if their grip strength is equal, or to raise both of their arms to see if there is a noticeable discrepancy on one side of their body.

Mr. Bhushan and Ms. Dascal explained that had the proper neurological exam been performed, the exam would have revealed asymmetric weakness on the left side of our client’s body, prompting a stroke code to be activated. This finding would have only been confirmed by imaging, which the hospital also failed to perform, which would have shown a severe clot developing in the patient’s neck, which was restricting blood flow to the right side of the patient’s brain.

‍The jury agreed with this statement, finding Coney Island Hospital liable for our client’s stroke misdiagnosis.

Due to Coney Island Hospital’s failure to properly attend to our client, she suffered from a debilitating, irreversible stroke, which permanently altered the lives of her family members.

New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation is the largest municipal health system in the United States, and it is their duty to provide high-quality medical care to every patient who walks through their doors. Patients in the emergency room are often at their most vulnerable, and they should be able to receive guidance, care, and proper treatment regardless of which hospital they attend.