VA hospital killed my mom with a BP medicine overdose

[kenny18]

Hello, I just found this forum and am wondering if anyone could give me some advice.

My mom was a disabled Navy veteran. She was an inpatient at the VA hospital for two weeks and was discharged the last day around 5pm. She seemed fine and went out to dinner with a friend. She collapsed in the bathroom later that night around midnight. Her friend heard her fall and called an ambulance. The ambulance brought her to a normal hospital (not the VA hospital) and she died there a few hours later.

The autopsy shows that she died from a massive overdose of blood pressure medicine, amlodipine. Her blood level of amlodipine was 500 times higher than the therapeutic dose. She had normal levels of all her other medicines. I did research about amlodipine deaths and it happens when someone is given too much of the medicine and it builds up in the body over time and then kills them. It takes a while to have the toxic effect so this was definitely caused by something they did at the hospital before she was discharged. There is no way this was suicide - she didn't even have that much medicine and there were no pills in her stomach.

I submitted a request for records but the VA only gave me basic info. I asked for complete info regarding that hospital stay, like specifically what dose of what medicines was she given at what time and by whom. Instead, they sent me a CD with 700 pages of records listing all the dates she had ever had a doctors appointment in her life and the names of the doctor for each appointment, but no specific info about that hospital stay like I asked. 

I went in person to both the VA hospital and to an assistance center and got no effective help. The assistance center had me file a bunch of paperwork that I don't really understand. I got a denial in the mail saying that the VA denies "DIC, Death Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits" because of "you did not provide complete information or evidence". I called them to ask about what info they need specifically. They were not at all helpful and now it is past the appeal date. I'm not sure if this paperwork from the assistance center was even the right stuff to submit.

Does anyone have any advice for what to do in this situation? I want the VA to tell me what exactly happened and why they killed my mom. She was only 44 years old. My little sisters have to grow up without even knowing their own mom.

Edited September 7, 2017 by kenny18

[Buck52]

 So sorry to hear this sad news.

Long time Hadit Elder Member and self taught Attorney  Berta Simmons & Also a GRADUATE ! Nov 2nd 2007 American Military University !  & the best Veteran Advocate we have here at Hadit.

Ms Berta Simmons is the only DIC Expert we have here at hadit

And I am fairly sure she can give you some expert Advise on this one way or the other.

she will probably reply to you in the morning  (9-7-17)

Again I am so sorry to hear this....my condolence to you and your family.

[Buck52]

I believe the statute of limitation is 2 years Ms Berta will know.

These type claims are very hard so you truly need to know what your up agianst. 

[Berta]

Buck, I will help if I can but FTCA claims, as you correctly stated , have a two year Statute of limits.

That is 2 years from the date you were aware of the malpractice.

A Section 1151 wrongful death claim has no time limit.

Kenny, was their a living spouse for your mother? And when did she die?

I used the date my husband died as the day I learned of the malpractice.

The very next day I learned of a medication error VA had made, when the coroner wanted to know exactly what medications he was on.

If there is no living surviving spouse to file claims against the VA, did the VA accept you as a claimant and give you a C file # when they denied the DIC?

Did your mother have any children under 18 when she died? They would be able to receive VA compensation (DIC) if so, if the 1151 award is favorable.

The VA is supposed to send claimants a full VCAA letter explaining what evidence they need.

As a survivor, when I reopened my claim for direct SC death (I received wrongful death DIC)

the VA sent me an illegal VCAA letter. They might have sent one like that to you.

In no way did it state what evidence they needed.But I knew what they needed anyhow.

If a claimant is not given the proper VCAA statement, as to evidence, their claim will be denied-and VA hopes they will not appeal.

Who prepared the DIC and accrued claims for you?

Can you scan and copy that letter (the VCAA letter they sent) and attach it here ? (Cover C file, name) prior to scanning it.

Also we need to read the DIC denial letter, as to why they denied and also we need to see the evidence list.

Do you have a complete copy of all of her VA medical Records?

The VA might ask for your status legally, to obtain them. I am not sure about that and will check.

The VA aggressively fights 1151 claims as well as FTCA cases.

"The autopsy shows that she died from a massive overdose of blood pressure medicine, amlodipine. Her blood level of amlodipine was 500 times higher than the therapeutic dose. She had normal levels of all her other medicines."

I assume that is clearly shown on the toxicology report the medical examiner did.

Do you still have any of the med bottles ( and any meds in them ) she took, as prescribed by the VA?

You also need a copy of her complete C file.

I am so sorry for your loss. I know how devastating it is to feel that the VA caused her death.

The VA caused my husband's death. He was only 47 years old.

But these cases need Solid medical  proof.

And as I always say here , malpractice will have a paper trail (or electronic trail) within the VA medical records.

That is how I proved my wrongful death case. Solely with VA medical records.I could not find any lawyer who would help me, or even get an independent medical opinion.This was pre -internet days, easiser to find IMO docs and lawyers now.

Are you prepared to get an Independent Medical Opinion, that could be quite costly?

Did the VA recognize your status as a legal claimant for the DIC claim?

And  were there children under 18 when your mother died...as I assume she had no living spouse at that time?

Did you file for DIC , accrued  etc on behalf of minor children?

Was this a specific 1151 claim?

Lots of questions I know.....it can be overwhelming.

If the 2 year FTCA statute is up, the only recourse I see here is possible   retroactive DIC for the children if they were minors when and after she died. But so much depends on the date of death here....and that would depend on a successful 1151 claim.

If she had a claim pending ( you mentioned Accrued) when she died, there is probably no way to recover that because the claim was not appealed. Or the VA gave a differentr reaosn in the denial letter that we would need to see,if you can scan and attach it here. (Cover C file #, name, address prior to scanning it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Berta]

I researched a little on this med ( also called Norvasc) and realized that the normal doseage is 5 or 10 mgs a day.

Is there an 'mg' after the 500 on the autopsy?

I dont see how a pill bottle could possibly  contain 500 mgs of this med.That would be a lot of pills. and many pill bottles.

That means ,to me, as you had stated , that something happened during the course of her VA hospitalization....

You definitely need to get a complete copy of her VA medical records.

Also this med is known to contraindicate other meds.

This article makes a good point:

"What’s the Risk?

The combination of a delayed onset of effect (8 hours) and a delayed time to steady state (4 to 10 days) means that amlodipine is not a good oral antihypertensive when you want an effect within the next few days.  For providers who are unaware of the “slow” effect of amlodipine, it becomes too easy to rapidly increase the dose or add additional antihypertensives before amlodipine’s full effect has been seen.

Don’t get me wrong — amlodipine is a great antihypertensive for outpatient use.  It lasts 24 hours, does not require laboratory monitoring, is well tolerated, and is generic.  Because of amlodipine’s tortoise-like speed, it should not be used to quickly convert patients from parenteral to oral antihypertensives in the inpatient setting."

http://clincalc.com/blog/2013/03/using-amlodipine-responsibly-in-hospitalized-patients/

This bears repeating:

"For providers who are unaware of the “slow” effect of amlodipine, it becomes too easy to rapidly increase the dose or add additional antihypertensives before amlodipine’s full effect has been seen."

What other hypertensives were listed on the autopsy?

I feel this would be an excellent point for a IMO doctor to make-and VA providers, as I sure have learned, are often unaware of  basic medical information, as to the meds they use and prescribe.

I think the Hospital increased the dosage to end up as 500 mg.

They could have given it intravenously-that information would be in the medical records.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by Berta
added more

[Berta]

I re read this, and 

I felt I should narrow down some of the questions I asked to a few important ones:

When did yout mother  die?

What was the VA hospital admission for ?

What state did this happen in?

If the death certificate and findings stated suicide as the cause of death, that  might be something you can get changed. State laws would control how that might be done.

Medical Examiners  and coroners make many mistakes. They base their findings on very limited data…and they almost always have no medical history of the deceased to go by.

Still that will take a strong independent medical opinion, based on all of the VA medical records, and the IMO can also support a valid 1151 claim,if it reveals medical error caused her death.

There are other factors to consider.

My 1151 DIC award included at that time my daughter, as a minor, as I had filed for DIC and accrued within one year after my husband died.

A subsequent award I got many years later also had to add her to a retroactive amount up to when she graduated from high school and joined the Military.. That too was based on the fact that the accrued claim had been filed within one year of her dad's death.

I do not know who would benefit here with a retroactive DIC award, if the Statute of Limits has passed and if 

the DIC and accrued claim were never appealed, or never filed within the first year after her death.

Then again, a statement of suicide dooms most claims, and  that might be an erroneous cause of death.

It is a stigma that follows the entire family.

You could possibly have a cause of action against the Medical Examiner, if a strong independent medical opinion proves that cause of death was completely wrong.

That also is what lawyers are for.  MEs have been sued. But more importantly , they might be able to  quickly change the cause of death, with the IMO

and maybe that could change the VA's denial of the DIC claim, if anyone one in the family would even be eligible for DIC.  Their denial letter contains their actual reasons for denial.

 

[Buck52]

Ms berta

I am sorry but I may have responded to this post to soon...as it was waiting for approval when I posted this

It seems there is no kenny18?

or he/she is not responding?

I just letting you know this so you don't waist your vaulable time trying to help someone.

If kenny18 decides to come back on hadit, then fine & I apologize

but so for it don't look like he/she is.