Infectious Disease That Caused Aka.

[subicbay]

Five years ago I went back to the States to try to save my leg. Even though I had an above the knee amputation I believed the VA hospital I went to did their best and never blamed them. In fact, I told all I met if it wasn't for the VA my family would have gone hungry along time ago. You see they gave me a pension and that is how i fed my children from that day. There was only one problem, five (5) years later I would learn the true reason I lost my leg. To better understand why I had lost my leg I asked for a copy of my medical records from Asheville VA Hospital for the time I was admitted for my leg ailment. When I received them I was shocked to find out that the true reason I had lost my leg. I would find a Wound Culture Report that said I had an Infectious Disease called Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia. I was never aware of it. I did a search of my medical records to see when this Wound Culture would appear in my mediical records. What I found was it was discussed prior to my amputation but it never mentioned the Infectious Disease or the change in medicine. It stated the patient would have an above the knee amputation (AKA) today. They also didn't mention my x-rays for my knee never showed damage and was not complete. Nor did they discuss why my Nuc. Bone Scan was cancelled. After reading all of this I felt they had amputated to eleviate the Infectious Disease. After reading this I initiated an 1151 claim stating I had the right to reconsider the amputation because there was new information that might have made me reconsider my decision. The regulations state the doctors must accomplish this. Everything I heard from the VA was positive and I believed it was a matter of time before they acknowledged their mistake and lived up to what they had done to me. Wrong. They disapproved my 1151 claim and never once referenced any of my evidence I had supplied. They had made one statement that bothered me. This was I had received the medicine all along. I decided to trace back the medicine to see when it was prescribed. What I found shocked me. It is found on the Internal Medicine Note, dated November 21, 2002. Here PA J. Stephen Downey acknowledges he has talked me into having the AKA operation. In the same Internal Medicine Note he changes my medication to Ceftazidine 2g IVPB Q8H and Vancomycin 1000mg IVPB Q12H. This change of medicine would be associated to the Wound Culture Report for my Infectious Disease, Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia, dated November 22, 2002. He advised me to have an AKA but never mentioned the change in medication or my true ailment. Would you sign to have your leg cut-off knowing there was a new medicine being administered and a correct diagnosis was now available. So now I have submitted a Notice of Disagreement quoting that twice it was evident my Infectious Disease was known prior to my amputation and twice the hospital chose to keep it secret and promote the AKA. I can only suppose it was to eleviate the Infectious Disease and save the hospital reporting procedures in a case they found less important than the saving of my leg, or at least the saving of my knee. Ask any AKA patient how important the knee is. Even though I have proven there was an Error In Judgement I feel I will still lose this because of these doctors attitude that they did nothing wrong. Why do I get this feeling that they believe they are above regulations and need not to answer to no one. Remember, I found this myself and still they do not acknowledge any wrongdoing.

John P. Forbes

[Berta]

No time limits on Sec 1151 claims-

the VA will service connect the disability or death "as if" service connected-

that criteria is NOT the same as direct SC-at all-

you only get limited ancillary benefits-

It is always best to get direct SC and then if you have direct SC for something and then win a FTCA settlement-the settlement CANNOT come off the compensation.

In other words- I get 1151 DIC (as if SC death)

The BVA stated in a old decision I had that the VA has to pay me back to date of death of my husband under Direct SC when my AO claim succeeds.

As to the money they offset due to my Sec 1151 DIC-

For about 10 years I technically 'got' DIC but never saw a check.

NVLSP told me years ago they never saw a claim like mine-

SC death due to AO and SC as if death also -due to malpractice.

Bu I dont think I am unusual case- God knows what medical errors are in some of those VA med recs out there.I saw a friend of mine the other who still thanks me over his 1151 100% award with SMC.It took seconds for me to find out they malpracticed on him-

everyone should carefully read their med recs and google anything they dont understand.

Also dont overlook crossed out stuff or stuff they scribble over.

Edited March 15, 2008 by Berta

[subicbay]

John,

It appears you are trying to prove malpractice based on the failure to notify you of the infection and that there was not much trama to the leg other than the infection. Thus, you might have changed your mind about the operation.

Did they discuss with you that the infection might kill you if they did not amputate the leg. There are infections that will kill you. I would think that they would keep some type of signed document that would recap anything that was told to you verbally. This is what they do to me when I go to the ER. If they did not keep such a document then they could leave a open door for litigation. This type of document may not be part of the treatment record. See if they have another file such as an administrative file that exists outside the treatment record.

You are not clearly complaining that they amputated unnecessarily. Your complaint seems to only be lack of notification as to the facts surrounding the decision to amputate. I think it would be more important as to why the medication was changed than the fact that he changed it. He could have changed it for reasons other than the fact that the new medication would save your leg. Only another doctor would be able to address this issue. The VA usually does not give much consideration to medical arguments made by veterans unless they are backed up by doctors reports. Your case would be stronger if you could get some doctors to write letters in support of your claim.

My concern is that if you were to get a doctor to review the file outside the VA and he clearly told you that the infection would have killed you would you still be so mad as to litigate against the doctors who saved your life. I am sure the VA would seek such an opinion to reduce the size of any award you might get. It sounds to me like you need to talk to a lawyer. It took me a year and a whole lot of lawyer shopping to find a lawyer who would sue a govt. agency.

In view of the loss of your leg, I wish you the best and will assist as much as I can. However, this sounds to me like a job for the lawyers.

I just wonder if I lost my knee when it could have been saved. The X-rays show nothing wrong. Was it their rush to eleviate the Infectious Disease that caused them to conceal the truth and amputate above the knee. Ask any AKA how important the knee is. Could this have not been in parts, first below the knee, any attempt to allow the new medicine achieve the goal. After I saw the comments about the knee it makes me think the Hospital's needs were more important than trying to save the knee.

J. Forbes

[subicbay]

PS long shot question-

Subic Bay-

I have a vet trying to prove acoustical hearing loss and tinnitus due to an explosion at Subic bay 1960-1963?

He claims there was one death of a sailor but we cannot find proof of this explosion and even the US Navy said it didnt happen.

Does that ring a bell when you were there?

Sorry can't help. It was before my time.

J. Forbes

[subicbay]

No time limits on Sec 1151 claims-

the VA will service connect the disability or death "as if" service connected-

that criteria is NOT the same as direct SC-at all-

you only get limited ancillary benefits-

It is always best to get direct SC and then if you have direct SC for something and then win a FTCA settlement-the settlement CANNOT come off the compensation.

In other words- I get 1151 DIC (as if SC death)

The BVA stated in a old decision I had that the VA has to pay me back to date of death of my husband under Direct SC when my AO claim succeeds.

As to the money they offset due to my Sec 1151 DIC-

For about 10 years I technically 'got' DIC but never saw a check.

NVLSP told me years ago they never saw a claim like mine-

SC death due to AO and SC as if death also -due to malpractice.

Bu I dont think I am unusual case- God knows what medical errors are in some of those VA med recs out there.I saw a friend of mine the other who still thanks me over his 1151 100% award with SMC.It took seconds for me to find out they malpracticed on him-

everyone should carefully read their med recs and google anything they dont understand.

Also dont overlook crossed out stuff or stuff they scribble over.

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions . I will consider all.

J. Forbes

[subicbay]

John- as you know yourself -this sounds like clear cut malpractice-

and why everey vet should read their VA med recs VERY carefully- I am still finding instant of malpractice in my husband's VA med recs-

14 years after they killed him-

What is the status of the Sec 1151 claim you filed?

They tried to knock my 1151 claims down for 3 years-I won the way you did-

I got the proof of the malpractice from the med recs.

When did you really begin to belive malpractice might have occurred?

The Statute of Limits for an FTCA claim is within two years of awareness of malpractice.

The minute my husband dropped dead suddenly I felt something was drastically wrong-he seemed to be recovering well from a stroke.The spring before he died he had filed a Section 1151 himself and it was in the rating board per VA -hours before he died.

I filed FTCA tort within 2 months after his death-

got the med recs from VA first- and then filed Sec 1151-

I won FTCA the same way you are looking at your records-

this is detective work that can turn us into practically a med professional ourselve-

A word of advise-

dont do this like I did- I had no lawyer and no IMO doctor-

First I had to study the FTCA laws and malpractice laws and then I had to study medicine(Cardiology) for many months.

The internet in those days was not was it is today-

there are plenty of malpractice lawyers and IMO doctors on the web now-

what stage is your Sec 1151 at now?

Have you considered filing a tort?

When did you file the NOD-

if after June 21, 2007- I can give you a good referral to a lawyer-based on what I see here-

I am NOT a doctor but I do see potential charges of malpractice and you were SMART to file that Sec 1151 claim!

John said:

"Remember, I found this myself and still they do not acknowledge any wrongdoing"

been there on that one- and the VA is still paying dearly for what they did to my husband.

My present claim has 4 IMOs that support additional malpractice of AO DMII-

the actual etiology of how the VA killed him.

If my daughter -a vet herself-had not kept insisting I re-open a SC death claim-I would have never known the Real reason he is dead-even after winning the FTCA claim.

That claim is with a DRO now.

Hoppy is right- a good lawyer should look this over-

you might need an IMO-

in some cases the National Organization of Veterans Advocates can obtain an IMO themselvesfor a veteran and the IMO cost and their legal fees comes out of any retro-

Check out their site-and consider getting legal help and medical support (an IMO)

I always recommend Dr. Craig Bash and also Medical Opinion Associates? on the web too-

both user friendly- but they do charge fees-

I have spent $5,750 so far for medical opinions to support my present claims-which all stand unrebutted by the VA.

The VA refuses to read my competent medical evidence this time around yet they read it a decade ago-

I have made an investment in my claim-

this is how we sometimes have to see it-when we have to lay out cash when the VA cannot adequately diagnose and treat veterans and the vet incurs additional disability.

or death.

So deep. So many things to consider. Why do they make it so hard. They always say they are here for me. But when I read their denials it's as if the doctors that accomplished this deception are the ones writing the denial to the 1151 Claim. I say answer the evidence and it goes on deaf ears. I say folllow the regulations and they act like regulations are not applicable. All I want them to answer what type of patient would sign to have his leg amputated on the day a new medicine was perscribed and the true ailment would have been known. I do not believe there is anyone out there willing to have their leg amputated without the fight to save it.

J. Forbes