An Oregon woman says she suffered horrifying and permanent injuries after a doctor allegedly injected rubbing alcohol into her toes instead of a local anesthetic before removing two ingrown toenails.
Sarah Blackman and her husband are now suing Kaiser Permanente for $13 million, accusing the health care giant of negligence, medical malpractice and causing devastating damage to their marriage and home life.
According to a legal complaint filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court and obtained by Law&Crime, Blackman went to a Kaiser Permanente clinic in Hillsboro for a bilateral toenail-removal procedure involving both of her second toes.
The doctor was supposed to inject lidocaine, a local anesthetic, into each toe before removing the toenails, the lawsuit says.
Instead, the complaint alleges the physician injected 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol “in lieu” of the anesthetic.
The lawsuit describes the alleged mistake as a “never event,” meaning a serious medical error that should never happen during competent treatment.
“Plaintiff endured what can only be described as torture,” the complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, the doctor then pulled Blackman’s toenails without any actual numbing medication.
Blackman allegedly screamed, cried and begged the doctor not to treat the second toe.
The complaint claims the physician told her she should “just get it over with” and said he was in a rush to leave the clinic.
Rather than stopping to figure out why the injections were causing such severe pain, the doctor allegedly continued with the procedure. The lawsuit says he also failed to confirm that Blackman was numb before removing the toenails.
At one point, the doctor allegedly told her to hold still or the needle could go through her toe, then proceeded with the procedure over her protests.
Blackman went home afterward and followed her aftercare instructions, but her pain did not improve. Instead, the complaint says her toes continued burning and throbbing.
Her feet allegedly began to swell and turn red. The skin on the treated toes started changing color, oozing and appearing to come off.
On Feb. 7, 2026, Blackman went to Kaiser’s emergency department for help.
According to the lawsuit, emergency department staff could not understand how a simple toenail removal could have caused such severe injuries.
Blackman was admitted to a Kaiser hospital, where doctors initially believed she may have been suffering from an infection and tissue necrosis, meaning tissue death.
However, the lawsuit says the real cause was the rubbing alcohol that had allegedly been injected into her toes. The complaint describes the alcohol as acting like a “perfect cellular killer.”
Blackman remained hospitalized from Feb. 7 through Feb. 9.
Because the medical workers treating her did not know she had been injected with alcohol, the lawsuit says she was treated as though she had an infection and was given multiple IV antibiotics.
After she was released from the hospital, Blackman allegedly required ongoing wound care, debridement, multiple office visits and treatment for excruciating pain. She also struggled to walk because of the wounds and the severity of the pain.
The complaint claims Kaiser personnel finally called Blackman on March 3 and told her she had been injected with rubbing alcohol instead of anesthetic. She was allegedly told she would receive a written explanation, but the lawsuit says no letter was ever provided, despite multiple requests from Blackman and her attorney.
The lawsuit also accuses Kaiser of concealing the true cause of her injuries for months by failing to properly document that rubbing alcohol had been injected into her toes.
According to the complaint, that lack of documentation allegedly prevented future medical providers from fully understanding what had happened and treating her injuries with the correct information.
“For months all plaintiff’s chart notes contained was an email … referring to the injection of 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol into the patient’s toes as an ‘unfortunate event,’” the lawsuit states.
Blackman says she suffered severe and permanent injuries, including chemical burns and necrosis in both second toes, tissue loss, disfigurement, permanent nerve damage, numbness, burning, chronic pain, toe deformities, bone injury and severe arthritis that caused fusion of the bones in both toes.
She also alleges she lost range of motion and joint function and now has impaired walking and weightbearing because of the wounds and pain.
The lawsuit says Blackman required hospitalization, debridement, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and ongoing podiatric care.
She also claims the ordeal caused serious psychological injuries, including nightmares, sleep problems, anxiety and depression. The complaint says she is receiving mental health treatment.
Blackman’s husband is also seeking damages for the alleged loss of his wife’s companionship, comfort, affection and conjugal relations. The lawsuit also cites the loss of Blackman’s contributions to household responsibilities, including cooking, cleaning, errands and shared family duties.
Discover more from True News Media
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.