Man Claims Kaiser Screw-up Cost Him

CLEVELAND (CN) - The Ohio National Guard rejected a man's application for Officer Candidate School because a Kaiser employee entered "intermittent explosive disorder" into a computer system, though he never had been diagnosed with that, the man claims in court.

Simon Montgomery sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio, Ohio Permanente Medical Group, and Constance Baker-Alden, who allegedly made the computer mistake, in Cuyahoga County Court. The National Guard is not a party to the complaint.

Montgomery claims he was diagnosed with "exercise-induced syncope" after he fainted after working out on a treadmill in February 2010. After this, his doctor had told him "that he was medically cleared for all activities and that the isolated incident should not be a cause for concern," according to the complaint.

Montgomery applied for Officer Candidate School in January 2010. To do so, he signed waivers allowing the National Guard to review his medical records.

The Guard rejected him, in a letter that said "his application for enlistment had been denied because of a permanent medical disqualification for Intermittent Explosive Disorder and exercise-induced syncope," the complaint states.

Montgomery says he appealed to the Guard, in a letter stating that the fainting episode happened just once and that the diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder was incorrect.

He claims that Baker-Alden, "as an employee of Kaiser and/or Permanente," wrote a letter to him, which he immediately forwarded to the Guard.

"This letter explained that Baker-Alden had incorrectly entered the diagnosis of Intermittent Explosive Disorder on plaintiff's medical records," the complaint states.

The Guard rejected his appeal, "because his medical records were contradictory," Montgomery says.

As a result, he says, he applied to the Naval Reserves as an enlisted man, for monthly pay of $366 less than he would have earned as an officer in the National Guard.

He seeks punitive damages for more than $25,000 for negligence.

He is represented by Ann-Marie Ahern, with McCarthy, Lebit, Crystal & Liffman.

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