A second woman has sued the same Kaiser Permanente podiatrist, claiming he injected her toes with rubbing alcohol instead of numbing medicine before ripping off her toenails.
Story Snapshot
- Two patients filed separate lawsuits against Dr. Colin Mizuo and Kaiser Permanente over procedures just one week apart in January 2026.
- Both complaints claim he used 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol in place of lidocaine during toenail removal at the Hillsboro, Oregon clinic.
- Patients describe screaming in pain as the alleged alcohol injection failed to numb the area before the toenail was pulled.
- Claimed injuries include chemical burns, tissue death, nerve damage, and lasting pain, with combined damage demands topping $36 million.
Two Patients, One Doctor, A Week Apart
Court filings describe a disturbing pattern. Patient Sarah Blackman says she went to Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center on January 29, 2026, for a routine bilateral toenail removal to fix two ingrown nails. Her lawsuit claims Dr. Mizuo injected 4 milliliters of rubbing alcohol into each toe instead of the anesthetic she expected, then pulled the nails anyway.
A second patient, identified in reports as Young, says she went through a nearly identical ordeal exactly one week earlier, on January 22, 2026, at the same clinic. Her complaint alleges Dr. Mizuo injected about 4 cc of 70% isopropyl alcohol into her toe in place of lidocaine, then continued the procedure despite her protests.
Screaming Through The Procedure, Then Facing Infection
Both women describe the same horrifying scene. One patient says she cried out and told the doctor she was in terrible pain while he kept working. Medical staff later treated Blackman for what they first believed was a simple infection with tissue necrosis, not realizing rubbing alcohol may have caused the damage until the lawsuit laid out the allegation.
Lawyers for the women describe rubbing alcohol as a near perfect tissue killer when injected into skin, since it breaks down cell membranes on contact. The complaints list chemical burns, necrosis, permanent nerve injury, chronic pain, and trouble walking or bearing weight among the lasting harms both women say they now live with daily.
Damages, Departure, And A Doctor’s Silence
Young’s lawsuit reportedly seeks $23 million in damages, while Blackman and her husband are seeking $13 million. Neither Dr. Mizuo nor his legal team has issued a public statement responding to the specific claims, and reporting indicates he has since left Kaiser Permanente entirely, a move that further limits what the public can learn directly from him.
Kaiser Permanente has responded with a brief, carefully worded statement rather than addressing the allegations point by point. A spokesperson said patient safety remains the organization’s highest priority and that it reviews patient care events and takes appropriate steps when issues are identified. That kind of statement is standard corporate language, offering reassurance without confirming or denying a single detail in either complaint.
What The Broader Pattern Tells Us
Wrong-drug errors are not rare in American medicine. Reviews of hospital safety data show wrong-drug mistakes account for a meaningful share of all reported medication errors, and adverse drug events touch a measurable percentage of hospital admissions nationwide. These two Oregon lawsuits, if the allegations hold up, would represent an extreme and deeply troubling version of a documented problem rather than something entirely unprecedented in health care.
A second Oregon woman is suing Kaiser Permanente and a podiatrist for $23 million, accusing him of injecting her with rubbing alcohol instead of anesthesia before removing an ingrown toenail, following an earlier lawsuit with the same allegations against the same doctor.…
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) November 12, 2026
Civil lawsuits take years to resolve, and an allegation in a complaint is not a finding of guilt. Still, when two patients independently describe the same doctor, the same clinic, and the same substance substitution within a seven-day window, the claims carry a weight that goes beyond an isolated he-said-she-said dispute. Oregon’s courts will now decide whether the evidence backs up what both women say they endured.
Sources:
wthr.com, medindia.net, the-globe.info, learningjoan.com, pew.org
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