Just need advice on what to do?

[Dan1865]

Hi All, 

I filed a claim for benefits on Feb 4, 2020 and am still waiting for a decision! Here is what I claimed and will explain.

1. VA 1151- I was diagnosed with appendicitis at the VA hospital. Then said it was an emergency and surgery needed to happen ASAP. Thirty-four hours later they performed the surgery. The student surgeon was allowed to perform the surgery by himself with no attending surgeon present. The student messed up and almost killed me. He ended up leaving almost 5cm of a 6cm organ in my body. Over a 3 month period I kept on getting sick. Out of the blue, I became very ill with high fever, vomiting, and horrible abdominal pains. Went back to ER and they discovered I had appendicitis again. This is when they found out the organ was leaking and in tack. The surgeons tried to say it was a mistake on the CT exam. 

I went into the OR for a second surgery. They had to abort the surgery due to the lack of instruments. 10 days later I had a 3rd surgery. In the end, I now deal with major problems with my colon and stomach due to the constant infections. I have a rare form of chronic colitis. I have submitted everything imaginable to the VA. I have a nexus letters from 2 doctors who are specialists in surgery and GI. I have a Medical Opinion from a highly regarded Surgeon/Radiologist. The IMO clearly defines the many 1151 violations. The attending surgeon was also investigated by the OIG. He was terminated for allowing students to perform surgery without him present. OIG discovered that during surgeries he would not even be in the hospital, but would sign off on the surgery a day or 2 later like he was there.

2. Non Combat PTSD. 

    Everything is clearly documented. I have multiple buddy statements and records from this time period. They have a boatload of information; including, records from a civilian hospital suicide attempt. 

3. Unemployability: I am on SSDI for the GI Issues, Mental Health, Ischemic Heart Disease. and Paraneoplastic Syndrome associated with tumors in my lungs.

I had all exams before May 20, 2020. I figured they would have given me a decision by December. My doctor told me to write my senator; which I did. They told the senators office they were waiting on employment records. I get a call in Jan telling my claim was about finished and he needed a different address for a previous employer. I explained the employer went bankrupt and there is no address. He said my decision would be completed in 30 days. The very next day I get a call from my VSO stating they scheduled me for more exams. Believe it or not, they scheduled me the same PTSD exam I had in May of 2020. It ended up being with the same doctor as the first. He said in 22 years he has never had to do the same exam on someone during the initial Claim. So, for 3 hours we went over the first exam report. He made changes and submitted it the VA. Then in middle of March I get a call from the same guy at the VA. He told me my claim was done and I should have a decision within a week. My wife and I was super excited. The lady at the senators office received a statement stating a decision was forthcoming very soon. The very next day, my VSO calls me and said they scheduled you for PTSD "rework" exam. The same doctor yet again; 3rd time now I have seen this guy. We were able to do this exam over the computer and it was only 8 mins. Then on March 23,2021 they scheduled a new exam. This exam is a record review only. I received a VES overnight stating my record review was completed on 4/8 and it gave me the Physician Assistants name. So, again I sit here and wait. 

Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. What else can I possibly due to receive a decision? My health is declining and want to make sure a decision is reached to find out what I need to do next. My ultimate goal is to hold this VA system accountable for what they did to my body. They really jacked up my stomach and colon by doing what they did on a routine surgery. My goal is to make sure that the kids are taken care of in the event something happens to me. 

 

 

 

[Dan1865]

How do I upload documents to this site? I would like to upload the IMO and some other documents to this site for everyone to review. 

The VSO said a decision is forthcoming on my claim soon! 

[ShrekTheTank]

When you go and open a new chat box at the bottom, there is a paperclip Icon.  You can click on it and just click on the documents you want to upload.  Make sure it is the accepted kind.  

[Buck52]

Try this link  and click the video

https://sign-pdf-file.com/?keyword=how to download a document&campaignid=973024988&adgroupid=50960794780&gclid=Cj0KCQjwse-DBhC7ARIsAI8YcWLugmE1GGBSO2ezOaGkxIOL-wfcgsqfOjd2Q-_JJ953MhWFY3Mm8LwaAg27EALw_wcB

[Dan1865]

On 4/15/2021 at 5:41 AM, Berta said:

I am a successful FTCA and 1151 claimant.

I think it is best to wait for the decision.

BUT I also know how aggressively the VA will fight 1151 issues ,in most cases.

Hopefully the IM0/IME doctors followed the IMO/IME criteria here at hadit.

1151 requires documented medical proof of the malpractice and documented medical proof of how the malpractice caused the additional disability (pr disabilities)-or -as in my case -how the VA caused my husband's death.

One of my Bills on VA malpractice has passed the Senate and I asked my church to pray that Congress passes it as well.

S 221   Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Accountability Act116th Congress (2019-2020)

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/221/all-info

It might help you to help others by telling the sponsors of this bill of your situation.

I had to write to them all, to amend the original bill they prepared.

None of them were veterans and never dealt with the VA.

I will post their name and addresses if you ask them to put your malpractice issue into the Congressional Record.

The VA hides their 1151 stats and hides many of their FTCA settlements. 

This bill is to help prevent further malpractice, by getting the VA to honor the NBPD mandate.

I think you are out of the FTCA Statute of limits-but I often tell vets to file both under 1151 and under FTCA if thy have been harmed by VA medical care.

The good part for me was that the Office of General Counsel-VA- who handles FTCA---

can READ.

I received some of the most ludicrous 1151 denials I ever saw, from the Buffalo VARO.

My FTCA case however, based on the same charges, was one of the easiest claims I ever prepared. It took a lot of work and I had no IMO/IME but my evidence of malpractice was impeccable.

We really cannot help until we can see the decision. Please scan and post it ,to include the Evidence list ,when it comes ( cover your C file # ,name, address prior to scanning it.

 

 

Hi Berta,

Everything is ready to be sent to the elected officials for this bill. Do you by chance know if they will allow one to email this information in to these politicians?

Here in Michigan, I was able to call the senators office and they gave me an email address. The only caveat was a signed release was required with the documents. 

The reason I am asking is some elected officials will not take any documentation from someone outside of their district.

I know it's kind of a crazy question. I am just trying to find the best way to get this information to them. The postal service has become slower than a sloth and they have been losing so much mail. 

My wife is going to finish redacting our personal information on the documents I want to upload here. The documents will be uploaded tomorrow for sure. 

Thanks, 

Dan

 

[Dan1865]

Hi Berta, 

To answer your question about the IMO received and if they followed the correct protocols. 

I was able to get in touch with Dr Bash and we communicated multiple times over a few weeks. Dr Bash was able to review surgery reports from the VA, the OIG Investigation on the attending surgeon, and civilian records and imaging reports. Dr Bash is awesome and the IMO he wrote was absolutely amazing. Once my personal information is redacted from a copy, it will be uploaded for all to read! 

Thanks, 

Dan

[Berta]

To answer the other post you made - Direct your info to the Senators who are sponsoring the Bill S 221 and ask them to refer the info to the Subcommittee on Health.

As the Bill link states, it is already in the H VAC and in the Subcommittee:

01/14/2020	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Action By: Committee on Veterans' Affairs
12/23/2019	House	Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.