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This could happen to you


Berta

Question

This is a very unusual story-I am contacting his attorney because I dont know what kind of settlement he got- maybe he appealed the 1151 denial.

We had a widow here about a year ago, in the same predicament. She was trying to file for wrongful death of her husband but VA said the doctor was not a VA employee, but a private contractor-working for the VA.

When I FTCAed them I made sure that all of the doctors who malpracticed on my husband were definitely VA employees.

Still, Brian was hopeful because he said the new VA attorney handling his tort claim told him that a financial settlement was likely - and that an expert for the VA concluded his primary care physician had failed the standard of care.

"She used these exact words - the VA failed to meet the standard of care and there was a breach - and that there's liability involved and the VA is looking to settle your case," Brian said.

But eight months after he filed the claim, that same VA attorney dropped a bombshell. It turns out that Brian's physician was NOT a VA employee - she's an independent contractor for the VA, and under federal law the VA is not legally responsible for negligence by its contractors.

Why did it take the VA eight months to figure out Brian's physician was a contractor and not a VA employee? The VA won't tell us. The VA and Brian's primary care doctor ignored repeated requests for an interview.”


After months of fighting the VA, Brian did get a settlement with the help of Virginia attorney Glen Sturtevant.”

Shortly after Brian reluctantly agreed to the settlement, he received even more disturbing news from yet another VA medical evaluation performed by an outside, independent physician.

Dr. Arnold Kim wrote in his report that delays in Brian's diagnosis and surgery "allowed for further destruction of the spinal column." Kim refers to Brian's "permanent injury" and the "red flag" missed by healthcare providers at the VA.

He believes the injury to the spinal cord "also led to the veteran's current lumbar IVDS, erectile dysfunction and voiding dysfunction," and that earlier evaluation and treatment "would have likely prevented the majority of the disability from the lumbar spine injury."

Brian traveled to Washington, D.C., in September to meet with lawmakers about his proposed "Tally Bill." It would force the VA to identify independent contractors to patients and require the VA to assume at least some responsibility for medical malpractice by its independent contractors. Congressman Dave Brat of Virginia has agreed to sponsor the bill and plans to introduce it to the House of Representatives in the very near future.

https://abc7news.com/health/va-misdiagnoses-and-delays-nearly-kill-socal-veteran/4451312/


 


 

 

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Forgot to add. ...Section 1151 awards made at the RO level, as the above vet's was made, do NOT have any accountability at all, as far as I know to be reported /and/or included in the VA malpractice statistics.

Section 1151 awards made by the BVA are absorbed into the General Service Connected claims amounts, and reported to Congress in their annual report as 'service connected ' claims- which they are not.

I know of no reporting requirements at all to SLB or the NPDB ( State Licensing boards - National Practitioners Data Bank.) I have never found evidence of any  type of disciplinary action ever taken by VA or any other entity when a Section 1151 veteran has been harmed or killed by a VA health care practitioner...unless they also had a settlement with the OGC and it was properly reported to the NPDB-something VA fails to do-consistently- per GAO reports.

 

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The Tally bill is going nowhere. It doesn't even have the support of either the House Veteran Affairs Committee or the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee.

This congressman is just trying to make a good reputation for himself. He knows the Tally Bill will never happen in a million years. Bernie Sanders is good at introducing a whole bunch of bills that will never pass to get his base to vote for him.

 

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I would have check with the State Medical Licensing Board to see if the physician work for the Department of Veteran Affairs. The States usually requires them to carry insurance to practice medicine unless they are exempted. Insurance is very expensive. They usually put down on their license that they are exempted from carrying insurance because they work for the federal government and use the VA hospital address as their place of practice.

Don't hold your breath waiting on the Congress and the President  to pass the Tally Bill.

When the State only allows one year to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against a private physician, you better check with the State to see if he/she is a private physician. 

Edited by Solo
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You know what this reminds me of??   A "tax cheat" who sets up dummy coportations so he does not have to pay taxes, especially if its offshore.   This is what our government is doing...they hire a "contractor" instead of an employee, so they can get out of paying when something goes wrong.  

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