IMO Source ; Medical mistakes

[broncovet]

Many Veterans ask, "Where can I go to get an IMO?"  This is a great question!  Answer below.  An IMO is often needed when  Veterans seek benefits especially when their VA doc's nexus statement is non existant, or deficient.  This may also work if seeking an increase to document symptoms worsening.  Thanks to Alex, who mentioned this company in his blog.  While I have not tried Mednick, I may be soon shortly, and Alex Graham apparently recommends them.  

Now, A mednick or other IMO will NOT fix a lack of "in service event".  This needs to be documented in your service records, an IMO can not fix that.  

But, a Mednick IMO "may" work to supply a nexus, including one that is secondary to a service conneceted condtion.  

On the website, it appears the cost is 1500.  

Mednick webisite:  https://www.mednickassociates.com/2016/05/06/third-leading-cause-of-death-in-us/

In one of their blogs, they pointed out the third highest cause of death is "medical mistakes."  This is not suprising.  

 

 

https://www.mednickassociates.com/2016/05/06/third-leading-cause-of-death-in-us/

Source:  https://asknod.org/

[Berta]

That is a horrible statistic but not surprising- and private hospital and doctors are often negligent- it is not just the VA.

I was reading a recent VAOIG report this past week, whereby a veteran died due to a ventilator problem:

https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-19-06386-179.pdf

Often problems like this cause an "incident report" at a VAMC and this one was serious enough for the IG to look into but sometimes family members think, when a wrongful death seems to have occurred, that this type of IG report or the incident report  is a formal charge against VA- it isn't.

Only by filing FTCA and/or formal 1151 claim ,with documented evidence of negligence (malpractice) that resulted in a death or additional disability, directly due to the malpractice-

will anything be done by VA.

Medications errors are definitely a BIG problem.

The VAMC did an incident report on me- not really about the incident at all.

I have went to the Pharmacy to raise Hell-- they had sent my husband someone else's meds by mail and tried to blame the Post Office- they couldn't because we had 3 witnesses to the box they came in.Except the main witness , my husband, was dead when I noticed the med error, and that was when the coroner asked me what he had been prescribed by the VA.

 

They almost killed an elderly vet who lived near us, who had been telling them he never got his HBP meds by mail.They were not going to refill him meds until I went to the VA to gripe.He was very grateful because he was elderly and no one should stop taking HBP meds at his age.

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Berta

[broncovet]

I was hoping you would respond to that, Berta.  Yes, medical mistakes occur in both private care and in VA.  

Its my opinion that the VA is much worse, tho.  Why?  

     My VA doc schedules appointments about 2 in every 15 minutes.  But, the doc has to see emergencies, as well, and do paperwork, plus manage his staff.  

    It is not enough time to give us great medical care..they herd us in there like cattle.  Haste makes waste and causes errors.  

    My visits to private docs are much more relaxed, laid back, and I get to visit with the doc.  Not at VA.  They have to rush you through just to get all the patients seen.  

     I have a family member who is a military MD.  I explained to her that I had an appointment with my prime care, and he only wanted to discuss "one" issue, while I had at least 3.  I think I had arthritis, pain in my knee surgery, and of course, a persistent cough.    My family member sided with the doc.  They simply dont have the time to go over my 3 issues, I have to pick the one that is the most important.  Then make another appointment (in about 6 months) for the other one.  

I also have some "peculiar bumps" on my back that could be cancer, but I really cant tell the doc about those, because, well, he is not a cancer specialist and they dont like to refer Vets to them unless they have cancer.  

     Its medical malpractice by "expediency".  

[HONDOII]

Always good to have another IMO source.  I can't say I'm a fan of the $750 per case review up-front cost without a clear description of what they require.  I'd hate to blindly (from how it's presented on the flyer) shell out the cash and have them say that they can't do anything.

[Richard1954]

Two Points: In my over 34 years dealing with the VA I only needed an IMO once because I had a C/P examiner that went our of her way to do everything she could to insure my claim was denied.  I won the claim in the end..... that being said..most claims do not need a separate IMO  but if they do there are many doctors that will write a statement in your medical records and for a few dollars more they will even write a medical opinion they usually cost $1500 before they write the statement.

[broncovet]

Dr. Bash quoted me, if I recall, 4000 for an IMO.  However, someone may have said its more now.  I just had an IMO for a Voc Rehab specialist, and it was 600.  Im sure it would be more for a doctor, mostly that would be required.  

However, I needed an IMO for an earlier date for tdiu, so Voc rehab is what I needed.  

[Berta]

Broncovet asked:

"Its my opinion that the VA is much worse, tho.  Why?  "

There are many reasons-

1. as you said, the doctors are not taking the time to properly assess veterans medical issues.

2. a big mistake we made is that my husband and I ,  in the 1980s never questioned the diagnoses he got.

They had their degrees framed and on the walls of their VA offices. When Pres Clinton said in 1993, that we had the best Gov run health care system in the world ( the VA) my husband almost withdrew his 1151 claim, but I talked him out of it. There was no doubt that he had been malpraticed on for a stroke, but it seemed the VA would correct those medical errors. They didnt. I proved they malpractice on heart disease, stroke, HBP, and diabetes Mellitus and caused his death at age 47.

3.VA  Malpractice settlements are supposed to be reported to the NPDB (National Practitioners Data Bank) and those doctors then become public record via state Disciplinary Boards.Anyone can access those state records on line and find out of their doctor or any type of medical provider they have, has already been changed with proben malpractice.

4. I named multiple doctors on my SF 95, all who had a role not only in the malpractice my husband suffered from, but who also tried to cover up, in the Syracuse VAMC ,the erroneous medical errors that occurred here in the Bath NY VAMC.

5.NONE of those doctors were ever reported to the NPDB and when I called the NY VA  VISN Director, at some point, he was stunned that he had never even been informed of this  extensive malpractice.

6. As I mentioned here before, my husband was a VA employee and the heart attack he had while employed at Bath VA was diagnosed as a sinus infection.He sat here in  a daze for the 3 days VA chit slip to take time off work but his supervisor called him relentlessly to return to work immediately.He was a Combat veteran but was medically  treated as a VA employee instead.

I was determined to find some motive for that initial medical error-after hours in a law library, ( i spent lots of time in law libraries and medical libraries to file and prove my FTCA/1151 cases.) I was sitting on the floor of one library exhausted as I had just gone through stacks of files on the bottom of a very big shelf- many re: VA, and my hand rested on a file that I determined would have to be the last one I could read through that day---Bingo-It was the M21 for Physicians. I found the motive and got it xeroxed just minutes before the library closed, and it was part of my FTCA evidence.

7. 1151 claims, if successful and do not involve a FTCA case, have NO accountability at all.Nothing happens to the VA medical people who screwed up.

8.By hiring contractors and filling VAMCs with them, a veteran has to either sue the contractor or sue QTC, VES, LHI- I have no idea how that works...and even if it has been done.The Tally case -available here, and I think on our main page, shows how VA got out of that lawsuit.

I was giving Brian Tally a lot of support and I even questioned under FOIA- the OGC- and then I realised he had not given me the actual monetary facts , so I stopped helping him. His lawyer, and even Mr Tally himself still  do not know if the doctor was really a federal contractor.They failed to even take my suggestions as to how to find out.I made an exception to not ever deal with a vet one to one again- and I regret I did that with Tally.

You cannot really help anyone who asked for your help yet manipulates the monetary results of their VA  situation.

 

9.One other reason why -is that many vets, or their survivors ( many who have been members here, )do not pursue any action like 1151 or FTCA at all....even when they fully believe malpractice occurred.

I know civilians whose family thinks they ( deceased family members )were malpractice on by civilian doctors but even years after the fact- they failed to do anything about it, yet still bring it up to me.Nothing can be done now after the Statute of Limits I advised them of long ago, has run out.

 

10. The Fayetteville AR multiple malpractice situation was attempted to be considered ( via their director at a town hall meeting available on line) an "isolated case".I called the WH Hot Line immediately on that statement.There was only one doctor involved but the latest stats is that he might have killed 12 veterans.Fortunately there were many FTCA lawyers at that town hall meeting and I spoke to one of them who said they had gotten many calls from vets right away.

Hopefully Congress when they return will consider my Bill , "The Rodney F Simmons VA Malpractice Accountability Act.' I posted it here somewhere.

Hopefully the 5 Senators who developed S 221, due to my OAWB complaint , will change it as I suggested strongly to them.None of the Senators that supported the bill are veterans and none have ever been given VA health Care. Like the "Tally Bill" it is deficient and ,in my opinion, gives the VA a way out- of proper full accountability.

I know the VA saves lives every day and employs many wonderful, smart, and dedicated medical people.

Many of them leave the VA however.That is one reason why the federal contractors are filling the VAMCs.

And so far those federal contractors do NOT fall under the NPDB agreement with VA, so there is no incentive to do their best when diagnosing and treating veterans.

That HAS to change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited August 6, 2019 by Berta
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