Va police assault and battery in Emergency room

[AprilNC]

Long story short if possible , took husband to VA ER for his ptsd his Dr called and said a bed had cleared and to bring him the ER was aware and a certificate of need was already in place. At one point I was made to leave him ( never before have I ever been told I couldn't be with him in ER)

when they let me back in I was informed a va police officer had slapped him across the face bloodying his nose. When I asked about filing a complaint I received the run around for about 10 days . In the mean time this officer issued John 4 federal citations including assault on an officer. I filed a complaint with OIG witness statements prove my husband never even made a move to touch this guy and so the federal prosecutor dropped the tickets except he required John to take a disorderly conduct ticket. So I have in my possession all the signed eyewitness statements that this cop slapped a man who was there for help , assaulted and battered a patient who was already committed then tried to cover it up by writing a pile of tickets. I also have the video footage from the ER showing my husband didn't move to touch this man nor ever touch him. The officers statements change once his hand was in his face , the second interview says he poked him in the chest and stomach neither happened ... I have 6 witness statements .... now how do I go about handling this? It aggravates his ptsd so badly the day we went to court I had to give him 2 extra doses of a very powerful antipsychotic drug... we've lost sleep and some times getting him to go to his va appts isn't that easy since joe he doesn't feel safe there..... suggestions welcome  

[Berta]

"It aggravates his ptsd so badly the day we went to court I had to give him 2 extra doses of a very powerful antipsychotic drug"

I hope that was under a medical recommendation because those anti psychotics are Very powerful.

You asked this under FTCA/1151 forum.

The FTCA regulations are here and they (as well as Section 1151 claims info -possible in  this case)

that anyone injured during the course of VA treatment ,to include an ER exam) has legal recourse, yet they would have to prove they received a ratable additional disability.

Was his nose broken? Did they X ray it to rule that out?

What is his PTSD rating now? He could apply for a higher rating due to this, but would need a medical opinion to support that.

I assume he has had no history or violent behavior.

I assume also that he might have  had a panic attack ,due to his PTSD, that triggered this event with the cop.

But these are just my personal assumptions.

Because something happened prior to the cop slapping him.Do the witness statements account for what happened before he got slapped.

"he required John to take a disorderly conduct ticket".

Did he get appeal rights for that ticket?  Was he represented by a lawyer?

Was he hospitalized for PTSD right after the ER incident?

 

Did the VA and or the VA police Department write up an incident report ( I am sure they had to) and if so, do you have a copy of it?

 

Edited April 30, 2017 by Berta

[AprilNC]

 

"It aggravates his ptsd so badly the day we went to court I had to give him 2 extra doses of a very powerful antipsychotic drug"

      Yes I was told by his prescribing Dr. it was ok. I actually split a dose and gave him 1/2 before court and hoped he wouldn't ned the other half but it was necessary. 

You asked this under FTCA/1151 forum.

The FTCA regulations are here and they (as well as Section 1151 claims info -possible in  this case)

that anyone injured during the course of VA treatment ,to include an ER exam) has legal recourse, yet they would have to prove they received a ratable additional disability.   

    I'm not certain we will file a section 1151 as of yet , he was rated 50% when this happened , he had a new C&P exam in Feb and they increased him to 70% for the PTSD

Was his nose broken? Did they X ray it to rule that out?

    His nose wasn't broken , some swelling and he complained of it hurting .For the next 10 days he was inpatient on a locked unit at this facility , he had already spent 11 days prior to this in 2 seperate civilian hp's because the VA didn't have an open bed.

What is his PTSD rating now? He could apply for a higher rating due to this, but would need a medical opinion to support that.

I assume he has had no history or violent behavior.

None, He actually worked for this VA in the homeless veterans program and the SUDP programs. He cared for the veterans living in the domiciliary and had excellent work history  with them.

I assume also that he might have  had a panic attack ,due to his PTSD, that triggered this event with the cop.

One of the witnesses stated the cop kept yelling at John to hit him , come and and hit him and see what happens. Yes John was upset he was in psychosis and the time he was already under a certificate of need we just had to bring him to ER for a formal commitment. 

But these are just my personal assumptions.

Because something happened prior to the cop slapping him.Do the witness statements account for what happened before he got slapped. John was upset after his seizure a nurse had hurt him pretty badly during his seizure trying to get an IV line in his arm. He was being vocal but never moved to aggressive. That's not bow he is. His PTSD makes him feel paranoid and unsafe. When he gets this way I have to do everything I can to assure him he's safe. When the cop slapped him he begged me to take him home he didn't feel safe there.

"he required John to take a disorderly conduct ticket".  The federal prosecutor was a brand new young fellow who wanted to show his stuff. The first day we were there he looked at John and said I can let all these other citations go, but this assault on an officer one is a serious deal. Which I agree assault on an officer is a big deal. John would agree too, he was shot and stabbed as a Georgia State Trooper if John had assaulted this officer but it was the other way around. His Federal defender agreed with me that there was no way in John's mental state that he could sit through an jury trial and that's what it would have taken to fight the ticket. So we opted to take the ticket.

Did he get appeal rights for that ticket?  Was he represented by a lawyer?

Was he hospitalized for PTSD right after the ER incident? For 10 days, then a 17 day in patient for his otsd and then another 8 days for psychosis brought on by a med change.

 

Did the VA and or the VA police Department write up an incident report ( I am sure they had to) and if so, do you have a copy of it?

Oh Yes I have copies of everything. It's funny how the original citations and narrative changed as soon as I got the OIG involved. I have eyewitnesses including the officer's partner who was in the room beside John when it happened and 2 nurses who were in the room and one nurse who was standing outside the door but heard the slap. 

[Berta]

GEEZ!!!!........

 For 10 days, then a 17 day in patient for his otsd and then another 8 days for psychosis brought on by a med change.

Was this a consecutive hospitalization? I am thinking of the 21 day Temp 100% comp.But that might not work here.

Others here will opine on that.

What does the VA attribute his seizures to?

Does he get TDIU (paid at the 100% rate) or just 70% comp.

"then another 8 days for psychosis brought on by a med change"

Can you elaborate on that?

What does the VA attribute his seizures too?

Maybe they could have been due to the wrong meds????

Have you searched for info on all his meds at good internet medical cites,to see if they are contraindicated or completely inappropriate for his conditions?

I won FTCA because VA killed my husband and one way they did it was by giving him 2 contraindicated meds,one of which was the wrong dose ( per the OGC medical report) and the other med was for a condition he didnt even have.

They also never diagnosed or treated him for heart disease or diabetes, he had both ,and he too worked for the VA.

I got his buddy at the VA 100% P & T under 1151 a few months after Rod died. The going scuttlebutt for a while at VA dietetics department they both worked in , was the disabled vets all feared the VA would kill them all.

I also proved that M21-1MR guidelines at that time, for VA doctors, said to treat employees with the idea of getting them back on the job within 3 days of any ER incident.

They were not treating him as a SC combat veteran except for PTSD care.

They told my husband ,after he collapsed on the job, that he had a sinus infection, but after he died, I proved it was a heart attack, and VA called here relentlessly to make sure he would be back at work in 3 days.But I think he took some sick time days too.  It took them a few more years to kill him.

  Bastards.

Does your husband have a copy of all of his VA medical records?

I

 

 

Edited April 30, 2017 by Berta

[AprilNC]

GEEZ!!!!........

 For 10 days, then a 17 day in patient for his otsd and then another 8 days for psychosis brought on by a med change.

Was this a consecutive hospitalization? I am thinking of the 21 day Temp 100% comp.But that might not work here.

 The month of September he was hospitalized for 21 days total and yes consecutively but not in the same facility 2 were civilian because the VA didn't have room for him.

Others here will opine on that.

What does the VA attribute his seizures to?   The civilian neurologist says his anxiety labeled them pseudo-seizures 

Does he get TDIU (paid at the 100% rate) or just 70% comp. just 70% so far I'm getting his LES from the VA and after I get those will file for his IU

"then another 8 days for psychosis brought on by a med change"

Can you elaborate on that? Bless his heart they put him on a very strong anti-psychotic and it caused rapid weigh gain and several side effects , so when he entered the inpatient program the Dr. running the program thought maybe they should try another drug...big mistake..it was worse and caused him to swell and pushed his anxiety over the top , thus inducing more seizures. So when I picked him up from the program and saw the med changes I called his psych and let them know , took him to see her the next day and he was committed again for another 8 days to get him straightened back out. Since November the psych has been slowly lowering the dose because he gained 60lbs plus developed mask like face and cogwheel rigidity.But because of the stress he was under over the VA police officer and federea court the Dr. didn't want to lower it to much. Now that that is over he plans to lower it again and maybe try a different less damaging drug.

What does the VA attribute his seizures too?  the VA listed the seizures as "seizure disorder" but there are notes relating them to his PTSD

Maybe they could have been due to the wrong meds????  I thought that too, John can't take Klonopin or valium they have the reverse effect on him and the civilian HP used valium while he was there , his first seizure in 5 years happened about 8 hours after his discharge.

Have you searched for info on all his meds at good internet medical cites,to see if they are contraindicated or completely inappropriate for his conditions?

Yes, hes on prozac for major depressive disorder, which can cause anxiety, also prozac depletes melatonin so that explains the no sleep sometimes...He was so over medicated 4 yrs ago that I loaded him up and took him to a different VA and told them hey he's drugged and it's not helping he's actually worse and the psych he had before wasn't hearing him when he said the klonopin jacks me up...she just upped the dose. All the drugs he's on together state they can cause suppress the central nervous system. I mentioned this to his Dr. and he said thats why we are tappering down hoping to try another drug. He's allergic to everything. he was in ICU  on life support before because one MH med caused seratonin syndrome and almost killed him.

I won FTCA because VA killed my husband and one way they did it was by giving him 2 contraindicated meds,one of which was the wrong dose ( per the OGC medical report) and the other med was for a condition he didnt even have.   I'm so sorry for your lose...it's like they don't see or hear what is being said to them or what's written on the paper in front of them.

They also never diagnosed or treated him for heart disease or diabetes, he had both ,and he too worked for the VA. Wow

I got his buddy at the VA 100% P & T under 1151 a few months after Rod died. The going scuttlebutt for a while at VA dietetics department they both worked in , was the disabled vets all feared the VA would kill them all.

I also proved that M21-1MR guidelines at that time, for VA doctors, said to treat employees with the idea of getting them back on the job within 3 days of any ER incident.   When John was having massive migraines they would take him down tom the ER , load him up with a narcotic and after about an hours nap. He'd be back up at his desk.

They were not treating him as a SC combat veteran except for PTSD care. And thats BS!

They told my husband ,after he collapsed on the job, that he had a sinus infection, but after he died, I proved it was a heart attack, and VA called here relentlessly to make sure he would be back at work in 3 days.But I think he took some sick time days too.  It took them a few more years to kill him.

  Bastards.

Does your husband have a copy of all of his VA medical records? Only what's on My HealtheVet

[broncovet]

You need to get a full paper copy of your records by requesting those at your VAMC release of information.  It sounds like an increase to 100 percent is in order, assuming he is no longer working.  

This incident should go a long way to getting your 100 percent.

Berta will chime in here, but I dont think you can get 100 percent plus more on a 1151 claim.  If your 1151 claim totals a seperate and distinct 60%, then yes, you could get smc s, I think, however.  

[Buck52]

I personally would not care if I got  a 100% increase or not  on this VA Fiasco....My pleasure would be to get this VA Policeman Fired.

  What About the other PTSD Veterans that has to face this Policeman.

 He is entitled to get the Temp 100% comp  if he was in the hospital for 21 days or longer.

also check on the dates he was in the hospital before this incident, he can claim that also for his S.C. PTSD %100% Temp.

If you want to sue the VA over this I suggest to get a good Experienced Attorney that has  dealt in this type of ''Cruelty  to Veterans'' or Unappropriated Action by a VA  Law Enforcement Official.

They will have their Big Guns'' in on this so you should too.