Posts Tagged ‘VA Hospital’

U.S. to pay $350,000 after suicide of Marine

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
By William H. McMichael – Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jan 17, 2009 6:57:58 EST

The government has agreed to pay $350,000 to the family of a Marine combat veteran who committed suicide after what his family alleged was negligent mental-health care at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in Massachusetts.

Former Marine Reserve Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey hanged himself in the cellar of his family home cellar on June 22, 2004, two weeks after being turned away from the Northampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he had gone for treatment after a combat tour in Iraq.

A spokeswoman for Michael Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, verified Jan. 15 that both parties have reached a negotiated settlement but noted that the agreement must still be accepted by the court.

Click here to read to the full article.

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Posted in VA Malpractice | 4 Comments »

US inquiry finds problems at Prescott VA hospital

Saturday, May 8th, 2010

PHOENIX – A federal agency that investigates whistle-blower complaints has closed its probe of the VA Medical Center in Prescott after concluding that medical errors had occurred and the facility had suffered from understaffing of nurses and housekeepers.

The Office of Special Counsel investigated problems in the hospital’s long-term care and hospice wards reported by a nurse who alleged that she was fired in 2008 because she complained that patients were suffering. The report found no evidence to support an illegal firing.

A full investigation by the Veterans Affairs Office of Medical Inspector – completed in September and released Thursday – concluded that some workers made medication errors, including overusing laxatives and misusing narcotics. More serious allegations of patient abuse could not be substantiated.

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Posted in VA Reports | 1 Comment »

Calls for “Tort Reform” Desperate Distraction From Health Care Debate

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Those opposed to real health care reform are flailing to come up with real, alternative solutions to our current crisis. With all the talk of death panels, government takeovers, and rationing of care, now tort reform has been thrown into the mix.

Yet it will do practically nothing to lower health care costs, and certainly will not fix our broken health care system. However, it will most definitely hurt patients injured through no fault of their own. Seemingly, the effects of legislation on real people have somehow evaporated from the discussion.

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Posted in Federal Tort Claims Act, VA Malpractice | No Comments »

Report: Problems Still Plague Illinois VA Hospital

Monday, December 14th, 2009

A new report from the inspector general in the Department of Veterans Affairs finds that the VA Medical Center in Marion, Ill., continues to be plagued by quality management and patient care problems some two years after a suspicious spike in the number of post-surgical patient deaths there.

A 2008 investigation found that at least nine patients died because of surgical mistakes and poor post-surgical care at the VA hospital in Marion, which is in southern Illinois. That report made recommendations to improve conditions at the facility.

The new report finds poor quality management oversight, inconsistencies in the way patient deaths are reported and continuing problems with ensuring patient safety — including the discovery that surgeons were performing procedures they were not authorized to handle.

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Posted in VA Healthcare Problems, VA Malpractice | No Comments »

VA hospital ignored vet’s stroke, report finds

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

The inspector general of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has found the Hampton VA Medical Center at fault after a doctor there failed to diagnose a Chesapeake veteran’s stroke, leaving him permanently disabled.

The investigation also found that the vet’s medical record contained lab results from another patient and that the medical center staff turned a deaf ear to his repeated complaints in the weeks afterward.

Click here to read full article from The Virginian-Pilot

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Posted in Military Healthcare Problems, VA Healthcare Problems | No Comments »