By Gina Tabonares
Variety News Staff

THE plaintiffs and defense counsels in a $10 million medical malpractice case against Andersen Air Force Base agreed to move the scheduling order due to difficulty in locating expert witnesses who are either on active duty or deployed overseas.
Deborah Rutledge and Thomas Rutledge filed the lawsuit on Feb. 17, 2006 after Mrs. Rutledge suffered a permanent injury allegedly because she was misdiagnosed by a medical practitioner in the AAFB clinic.
Lawyers for both parties agreed to move the plaintiffs’ expert identification deadline to June 25, 2007 while the defendant’s expert identification date is July 16, 2007.
According to the couple’s complaint, Mrs. Rutledge woke up on July 27, 2004 with a loss of feeling on her vaginal area and numbness on the bottom of her feet.
On the same day, they went to the AAFB clinic for consultation and treatment for these symptoms and were attended by Major Natalie Giscombe, an Air Force nurse practitioner.
While under such care and treatment, the couple stated that the condition of Mrs. Rutledge was misdiagnosed. They said the medical personnel who treated her failed to properly diagnose that the plaintiff was suffering from the classic symptoms of Cauda Equina Syndrome and failed to timely refer her for further testing, and evaluation or refer her to an appropriate medical specialist.