Physician Protection

Tampa Stroke Misdiagnosis Verdict

The “Tampa stroke misdiagnosis verdict” refers to a 2025 Florida medical malpractice case in which a Hillsborough County jury awarded approximately $70.8 million to stroke patient Chiaka Stewart after emergency providers at a Tampa General Hospital–operated facility failed to timely diagnose and treat a life-threatening condition that led to a massive stroke and lifelong disabilities. 

 

Key Facts

• Location: Hillsborough County, Florida (Tampa General Hospital Brandon Healthplex ED) 

• Year of verdict: 2025 (verdict on September 25, 2025) 

• Plaintiff: Chiaka Stewart, age 42 at time of verdict 

• Defendants: Tampa General Hospital, InPhyNet Contracting Services, APRN Heather Anderson 

• Jury award: $70,832,502 in damages 
   

Background

In July 2021, 38-year-old Stewart experienced what she described as the worst headache of her life. Her teenage son called 911, and she was transported by ambulance to the Tampa General–run Brandon Healthplex emergency department. She had known risk factors for blood clots, including diabetes and recent use of hormonal birth control. 

The advanced practice registered nurse on duty, Heather Anderson, did not order a CT scan, vascular imaging, or neurology consult, and Stewart was discharged with headache medication after several hours. 

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The Stroke and Injuries

Two days later, Stewart returned with a devastating stroke caused by blood clots in her brain. She was left blind, hemiplegic (paralyzed on one side), and catastrophically disabled, requiring lifelong care and assistance with basic activities of daily living. 

Experts at trial argued that timely neuroimaging and stroke workup during the first visit would likely have revealed the clot and allowed treatment to prevent the stroke or greatly lessen its severity. 

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Verdict and Legal Significance

After a two-week trial, the jury found Anderson negligent and acting as an agent of Tampa General Hospital, and held TGH and InPhyNet Contracting Services liable alongside her. 

The $70.8 million verdict is one of the largest stroke-misdiagnosis awards in Florida history and is frequently cited in discussions of:

• Emergency-department duty to rule out stroke in high-risk headache patients

• Hospital liability for contracted ER staff

• The catastrophic impact of delayed stroke diagnosis
   

However, because Stewart was a Medicaid patient, Florida’s sovereign-immunity–style damages cap for certain public entities may drastically limit how much of the non-economic portion of the verdict she can actually collect, potentially reducing pain-and-suffering recovery to around $200,000 despite the jury’s award. 

 

This Verdict is Notable for:

• Highlighting systemic issues in free-standing emergency departments and triage of neurological emergencies

• Clarifying how liability can extend from individual advanced practitioners to hospitals and staffing agencies

• Adding a high-profile example to the national pattern of large verdicts in stroke misdiagnosis and delayed-diagnosis malpractice cases in the mid-2020s.