BELLEVILLE – A woman claims she was misdiagnosed at the Center for Gastrointestinal Health, which has left her with large medical expenses and pain.
Rosetta Lasica filed suit Jan. 2 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against the Center for Gastrointestinal Health in Fairview Heights Dr. Shakeel Ahmed. The suit states that Lasica became a patient at the center at the beginning of 2007 when she was diagnosed with reflux disease.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants were guilty of negligent acts or omissions, including diagnosing the plaintiff with Barrett's Esophagus “when defendant knew or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known that such a diagnosis was unfounded."
Barrett’s esophagus is a complication arising from reflux disease when the tissue lining the tube from the mouth to stomach changes.
“As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of the defendants aforesaid plaintiff carried an erroneous diagnosis of Barrett's Esophagus for 12 years,” the complaint states.
Lasica claims she underwent repeated testing, medication, and spent sums of money on hospital, medical and related expenses. She claims she suffers from permanent pain and mental anguish as well as lost wages and income.
Lasica, who is represented by Thomas Q. Keefe Jr. and Samantha S. Unsell of Keefe, Keefe & Unsell of Belleville, is seeking more than $75,000.
The center did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Madison County Record.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 2020-L-09