Assistance With Dic

[kimmig]

My husband was 80% service connected, Gulf War Veteran. He passed away in october 2011. had service connected surgery for previous back injury on 26 october and died at home on 29 october. released from the hospital the day after back surgery. VA had him on 14 medications, two doctors didnt talk to one another and he died from " mixed drug intoxiocation complicating recent lumbar surgery". an autopsy was completed and the death certficate does reflect the above. do you think i will have a problem with being granted my DIC? Four drugs found in system, all VA prescribed for his back. the oxy was the contributing drug

[carlie]

i have contacted an attorney for a possible malpractise claim.

I requested his C file and got that without a problem and have forwarded the records to them.

kimming,

Sorry you and your family are having to endure this.

I sure hope you sent a COPY of the Cfile and kept what VA sent you.

Only pass on or submit copies of things.

[Berta]

Kimmig, I totally agree with you as to the OIF OEF vets not getting proper treatment from VA, and being given in many cases, way too many meds, that could work against each other.

I am sure any malpractice lawyer with some expertise,hopefully,in dealing with VA on these matters, will give you the help you need.

Accountability? I am still concerned about something to that affect in my FTCA case.

The VA failed to send the names of the VA doctors who malpracticed on my husband to the National Practitioners Data Bank.

The VA has had a written agreement for decades with NPDB.It s a mandate wheenever the USA pays a FTCA settlement.

With no NPDB reporting, these doctors just went on to potentially malpractice on other veterans.

VA has some dirty laundry on it's "accounability" requirement of the NPDB mandate.

The OGC has blown me off many times by phone and by mail on this issue in my husband's case so I decided to hold onto my evidence in case I can use it in some other way.

I can relate so much with what you said here.

The lack of VA accountability in my husband's death still bothers me a lot.

They paid for what they did to him and are still paying for it (17 years after his death -I won additional Section 1151 benefits last month)

but I still wonder what VAMCs all those Doctors were transferred to, and how many other vets did they harm or kill?

Section 1151 awards dont come under NPDB guidelines.

A well known malpractce lawyer on the net who handles VA malpractice issues was stunned when I told him that.

I think it was Robb Graham.

I hope your lawyer makes the NPDB reporting issue as important as any settlement they offer, if your case succeeds.

VA attorneys assured me, when I settled, that the negligent doctors would receive disciplinary action.

They lied.

I have said many times here that VA saves lives every day. I believe that completely.

Their malpractice stats are probably no worse than those of private hospitals.

But when they cause any additional disability or death to any veteran, legal action must be taken against them.

[Gulfvet45]

Lot of good advice, file the FTCA as per 1151.

[kimmig]

Forgot to ask-

are you aware of any possible Incident Report the VA did regarding your husband's death?

They might have put one into the C file record. That is where I found one.

His C file can be requested from the Regional office he dealt with.

Med recs come from the VAMCs.

i am not aware of an incident report; The VA outpatient clinic here was horrible, did not care one bit for any of its Veterans. So i doubt if there is an incident report. They could have cared less that he was gone. I really appreciate all of your helpful advice!

[Berta]

That's OK.

Based on what you told us here, it would not matter if they did an incident report or not.

If they did one, the head of the VISN is supposed to know ,if a death was involved.

I called the director of the VISN up here in NY and he was stunned that he knew nothing about my husband's death and a pharmacy error.

The VA did an incident report , becase I found out they had sent him another vet's meds, which he took (long story there) afew days before he died.

but the report was on me - 'Mrs. Simmons confronted the pharmacist and was carrying a clipboard with VA regulations on it, wearing a yellow shirt and green pants.' blah blah blah.

Of course the VA blamed the error on the Post Office.

They could have killed the elderly vet who didnt get his meds on time. I noticed his name and not Rods name on the meds when the coroner asked me what he was taking.

I called this vet up and he was having a hard time getting VA to believe him, that his meds never came.

ATthat point I saw the director and the vet got his meds.

I hope you get a good lawyer.

VA could have taken steps many times to save my husband's life. They covered up at anther VA hospital, what the local VA here had done wrong.

It took me time to even 'uncover' the cover up.but it was there.

All negligence and proof malpractice, if it ocurred, is within the medical records.

Some is obvious, but some is very hard to find.

It has been many years since I got my FTCA /1151 award. But I succeeded again on another malpracticed issue in 2010, and most recently under Nehmer.

I also a preparing another Section 1151 CUE claim.

In my recent January AO decision the VA made a statement that was alarming. It surprised the NVLSP lawyer too.

It appeared to suggest VA was well aware of their malpractice, 6 YEARS before my husband died.

NVLSP and I are anxious to see how the VA responds to my request for more info on their recent statement.

I knew right away, when I saw this in my Nehmer award, that something else was hidden from me as well as the VA General Counsel.

Your lawyer will have to watch out for that kind of stuff.

[john999]

Berta

You should write a book on DIC. I drill my wife on DIC that she should never accept a final "NO" for an answer. I still don't think she understands what she may be up against.

John