LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Veteran Medical Malpractice
Read our Veterans Malpractice FAQ
If you are a veteran and you or family members have been injured due to veteran medical malpractice, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), a VA medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine whether you have a medical negligence lawsuit.
En Español MALA PRAXIS MéDICA A VETERANOS
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Veterans Medical Malpractice
The VA employees about 19,000 doctors and has 152 hospitals. Since 2003, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)—that provides services for some 22 million American veterans—has paid out approximately $100 million a year to settle more than 3,000 veterans medical malpractice claims. In 2013 the agency tended to 5.6 million veterans, a 32 percent increase from 2002.As of mid-2014, the VA has spent more than $50 million on medical malpractice claims, according to an analysis of Treasury Department records. In the ten years after 9/11, the VA paid $200 million to nearly 1,000 families in wrongful death cases.
In recent years the VA has been under scrutiny, namely for preventable veteran deaths, infectious disease outbreaks, VA employee bonuses and mismanagement.
Several VA Inspector General reports determined that a number of VA patient care problems are directly linked to mismanagement within VA facilities and that VA bonus pay has no definitive link to performance. Recently, one executive director received a cash bonus of $63,000, according to VA Accountability Watch .
Filing a VA Medical Malpractice Claim
The Federal Tort Claims Act allows a civilian to claim compensation from the US government when damage is caused by the negligence of any employee or agency (such as VA hospital malpractice) of the US government, including the Veterans Administration (VA). VA medical malpractice law falls within negligence law, which is applicable to all lawsuits by attorneys against medical professionals, from VA hospitals to doctors and dentists to podiatrists and chiropractors.
A Section 1151 claim for disability compensation can be filed specifically if an injury has occurred resulting from a VA hospital, outpatient clinic,medical examination or surgery.
In both Section 1151 and FTCA claims, it is imperative to be aware of the Statute of Limitations (SOL). Once you have filed, the SOL begins ticking for any federal tort claim. As a rule, you will have two years to present an administrative claim from either the date of malpractice, or the date that you knew or should have known of the malpractice. After you have filed, the question is whether you adequately investigated your legal options.
You can file a § 1151 claim without an attorney. However, you must prove that the VA' medical treatment deviated from generally accepted medical standards. According to vamalpractice.info, many VSOs say that this can be extremely difficult and it means the veteran must fund the cost of supplying expert testimony, so the VA wins, because the veteran did not prove malpractice. If the VA denies you or a family' claim, the family can appeal the case in federal court.
Increasingly, more medical negligence claims have been directed toward VA medical malpractice claims involving a wide range of mistakes, from prescribing the wrong medication to botched surgeries to failing to diagnose illnesses. Some mistakes have resulted in death.
One reason for the increase is that some 1.2 million additional soldiers are due to become veterans from 2013 through 2017, according to Bloomberg.com. And the median age of veterans is younger, meaning they tend to get larger malpractice payouts which reflect how long the victims will suffer. A study by the Labor Department reports the median range of veterans who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington was 25 to 34 years old, whereas veterans who served during the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam eras, had a median age range of 65 and older.
VA Medical Malpractice History
A "Primetime Thursday" investigation by Diane Sawyer uncovered disturbing information by hidden cameras about the quality of care and questionable management practices at some VA hospitals, including misdiagnosis. One patient, Terry Soles, who served in the Navy during the war in Vietnam, went to a V.A. hospital for two years complaining of intense abdominal pain and diarrhea. His wife finally took him to a private doctor, who diagnosed cancer: Soles died three days later.A former VA out-patient clinic psychiatrist was convicted of nine misdemeanor counts of assaulting three patients under his care. He was later convicted of "improper sexual relationship with patient."
2005
The News Hour with Jim Lehrer reported on what the VA is doing to improve patient safety. It revealed many lapses in patient safety over the last decade, including lack of hand washing, wrong site surgery, and that the VA performs surgery on the wrong veteran about once a month. And VA infections frequently occur.
2006
Two years after a report regarding incompetent VA staff, US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the VA was still doing a poor job of checking health care providers' backgrounds. (At least 63 cases of malpractice between 1997 and 2002 resulted because of the failure of a supervisor to oversee residents. These cases included misdiagnosis, surgical and medication errors, and inadequate care.)
2007
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington was investigated after reports of sub-standard conditions at the hospital and treatment of veterans.
A surgeon at the Marion, Ill. VA hospital resigned after a patient bled to death following gall bladder surgery. Between October 2006 and March 2007 the VA reported that at least nine deaths resulted from substandard care at the Marion hospital.
2008
The brachytherapy program at the VA Medical Center in Philadelphia was shut down after it was learned that many veterans had received incorrect radiation doses over a six-year period.
VA Centers in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee potentially exposed 10,000 veterans to viruses including HIV and hepatitis due to inadequate sterilization of endoscopy equipment.
The VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia sent a letter to more than 1,200 patients who were treated for ear, nose and throat, warning them they may have been exposed to infections.
Following an investigation at the VA clinic in Murfreesboro, TN, officials discovered that clinic workers were not properly maintaining the medical equipment used to conduct colonoscopies. More than 6,000 patients were notified and offered free testing.
More than 3,200 veterans who received colonoscopies at the Miami VA medical clinic between May 2004 and March 12, 2009 are at risk of exposure to both Hepatitis and HIV.
2009
VA centers in three cities were accused of reusing colonoscopy and endoscopy equipment without properly sanitizing the equipment. At least 50 veterans tested positive for blood borne pathogens.
Approximately 600 veterans received letters from VA informing them of potential neurological diagnoses due ALS—Lou Gehrig's disease. They were not diagnosed with ALS.
Officials announced that veterans in South Florida may have been exposed to Hepatitis and HIV after being examined with contaminated medical equipment.
2010
More than 1,800 veterans at a Missouri VA hospital , were exposed to life-threatening viral infections, specifically hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A former employee at the St Louis hospital told a congressional hearing that she warned a year previously that dental equipment sterilization was inadequate, but no action was taken. The VA determined that lapses in dental sterilization had occurred from Feb. 1, 2009, through March, 11, 2010.
2011
Approximately 80 percent of the 22,500 dentists and doctors and dentists working for the Veterans' Health Administration received performance pay boosts in addition to their base salary, totaling about $150 million. Additionally, about 20 percent of those medical professionals received performance bonus awards that cost more than $10 million.
Read more about VA employee bonuses.
2012
An audit of the Fayetteville VA Medical Center determined that facility employees did not complete required suicide prevention follow-ups 90 percent of the time for high-risk patients. As well, the audit found the center "noncompliant"in cleanliness of patient care areas, environmental safety, dental clinic safety, training and testing procedures.
A VA investigation found that a physician was responsible for misdiagnosed patient complaints and also failed to properly review medication information 56 percent of the time, a step that is "critical to appropriate evaluation, treatment planning, and safety."Fayetteville VA Medical Center Director Elizabeth B. Goolsby received a performance bonus of $7,604.
2013
Shortly after the VA Inspector General found systemic failures at the Pittsburgh VA led to a recent Legionnaires' outbreak that killed at least five veterans and led to VA malpractice claims, the man in charge of the Pittsburgh system was receiving the government's highest career award that included a $62,895 bonus. The VA' inspector general is conducting a criminal investigation into the outbreak, which involved bacteria in the hospital system' water.
2014
VA failed to release internal documents that corroborated at least 19 preventable deaths and VA officials did not respond to direct questions in a House Veterans Oversight and Investigations Hearing.
VA Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Four veterans died due to medical malpractice at the Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Clinic, leading to $1.4 million in settlements with the VA, according to The Center for Investigative Reporting. Four families filed wrongful death lawsuits against the VA that included:
- Failure to monitor a patient; filed on June 26, 2003 and closed on Jan. 1, 2005 for $100,000.
- The improper management of a psychiatric patient; filed on Oct. 3, 2005, and closed on Feb. 2, 2008, for $495,578.
- A wrongful diagnosis or misdiagnosis of a patient; filed on April 16, 2010, and closed on Aug. 19, 2011, for $300,000.
- Failure to monitor a patient; filed on April 23, 2010, and closed on Dec. 1, 2011, for $500,000. Clerks at the Fort Collins VA clinic were shown how to falsify appointment records so it appeared that doctors were seeing patients within the agency' goal period, according to USA Today. (The VA' official policy is that patients should be able to see a medical professional within 14 days of their request or preferred appointment date. If the patient must wait longer, the delay should be documented.)
VA Medial Malpractice Settlements
As of May 2014, the VA has settled 68 federal trial court cases brought in 42 venues, from Maine to Southern California. Five of those settlements stemmed from the Northern District of Georgia and the Atlanta VA Medical Center, which provides coverage for 130,000 veterans.
The four Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in North Carolina settled 29 wrongful death cases worth $4.75 million in the decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a new report from the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting.
In Illinois, 25 deaths at the Marion VA resulted in $7.7 million in wrongful death settlements, according to the Chicago Tribune April 30, 2014). The Tribune also reported wrongful death payments to the survivors of 12 veterans who died under the care of the agency's three Chicago-area hospitals, including $300,000 to the family of a veteran who died at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center.
In a wrongful-death settlement against the Fayetteville VA facility, the agency paid out $750,000. The death was caused by the VA' "failure to diagnose,"meaning a conclusion that the patient had no disease or condition.
Tracy Eiswert' husband and Iraq War veteran Scott Eiswert, age 31, shot himself in the head in 2008. The Nashville, Tenn., VA had denied his disability claim for PTSD. Three months after his death the agency admitted it made an error and began sending Tracy Eiswert survivor benefits checks of $1,195 a month. After Scott' suicide, she moved into her car with her two young children. She has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the VA, mainly due to the toll her husband's suicide took on their children. The case, filed in 2010, is still pending.
A veteran at the Phoenix VA was diagnosed with reflux, although his blood pressure was high. A VA doctor recommended a cardiac stress test but he had to wait seven weeks. He died of a heart attack a few days later. The case settled for $800,000 in May, 2014.
In 2007 Christopher Ellison went to a Philadelphia VA medical center in Philadelphia to get eight teeth extracted. The surgery left him permanently incapacitated. Ellison and his family received $17.5 million in a malpractice judgment against the Department of VA.
Veterans Affairs wrongful death cases from Sept. 11, 2001, to Nov. 4, 2011:
- Families who received payments. 978
- Millions of dollars paid to these families. $209.7
- Median payment in these claims. $150,000
- Median number of days to process each claim. 673
Filing a Veteran Medical Negligence Lawsuit
Filing a veterans' medical malpractice claim under the FTCA is complicated and typically requires help from VA medical malpractice lawyers who understand the requirements for filing medical negligence lawsuits. For instance, before you sue, an administrative claim has to be made against the VA for the full amount of damages you have suffered, and that is difficult and risky to determine. Once you have filed your administrative claim, you won't be able to ask for more damages—ever again--unless you have evidence that proves additional damages are warranted and you didn't have knowledge of them prior to filing your claim.An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help determine how much in damages you are entitled to receive and will make sure you don't "short change" yourself.
After your administrative claim is filed with the FTCA, the VA is entitled to six months for investigation and review of your claim. The VA can then do the following:
- Accept the claim and pay it out in full
- Settle the claim for less
- Reject the claim outright.
VA Legal Malpractice
A number of VA hospitals have in place an "apology law": administrators and health officials admit their mistakes immediately and negotiate with the victims for extremely low settlements. Although a small settlement can help short-term, lawsuit settlements are typically 6 to 28 times greater than what hospitals are offering.
Veteran Medical Malpractice Legal Help
If you are a veteran and have suffered injuries or negligence at a VA hospital, please click the link below to submit your complaint to a veteran malpractice lawyer for a free claim evaluation.
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October 15, 2024
No veteran expects to be injured because of medical negligence on the part of the VA, but it happens. If you or a family member has been a victim of veterans’ medical malpractice, don’t give up. READ MORE
Vet Congressional Testimony Speeds Medical Malpractice Fix
September 27, 2024
Many readers know the story of U.S. Army Specialist (Ret.) Dez Del Barba whose strep infection was mistreated by military medical professionals. It morphed into necrotizing fasciitis and cost him a leg, his career and nearly his life. A penicillin shot would likely have prevented this. READ MORE
Veterans Die of Neglect in Nursing Homes
August 27, 2024
In March, Bennett Walsh, the former superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, and its former medical director, Dr. David Clinton resolved criminal neglect charges against them. The veterans medical malpractice charges stemmed from the deaths of 76 veterans at the state-run facility during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Neither leader pleaded guilty; they did, however, acknowledge that there were sufficient facts to warrant a guilty finding. READ MORE
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READER COMMENTS
Patricia Braun
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Steve Sterry
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I submitted a tort claim, request for service connection, and a complaint to the Inspector General.
The Podiatry Department Director reported that the wound was completely healed when it wasn't. I am awaiting an appeal hearing.
The Tort Claim went nowhere because I could not find an attorney who was willing to take the case.
My complaint with the Inspector General went nowhere because the podiatrist who created the wound never entered the removal of the callus in my medical records.
Thankfully, I have medical insurance through my retirement from work. I have shifted much of my medical to my private insurance because I cannot trust VA personnel. I feel sorry for those veterans whose only source of medical treatment is the VA.
Tammy Freeman
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Mario Glento Daniels
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Kenneth Ray Brown Sr
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Kenneth Ray Brown Sr
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Peabody 'sCow
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The emergency room physician was nice until he saw the pain patch. He never asked me about the treatment plan,just who gave it to me. I was discharged to home,no further treatment,I was considered "drug seeking".
Five days later I returned,the Dr sent me to a local civilian hospital stating I might be having a heart attack.The civilian Dr asked why I waited to be seen,I explained I was turned away...The cardiologist who saw me stated he had been intending to call time of death not actually treat a live person. The CAT scan showed a pulmonary embolism in both lungs. The first time I went to the emergency room,I was in crisis only to be denied care,a different time only 4months later,I returned with severe pain in right leg(same as last time with dvt) The emergency room physician told me he was not going to give me any thing and I could drive myself home and take all the drugs I wanted. Once again,I was profiled as drug seeking. I had a test done on my leg that showed a bakers cyst( it's the size of a lemon) that presses on the vessels causing severe pain.(this has to be either aspirated or surgically removed)Twice in the emergency room physicians jump to conclusions about the person,especially if you are a chronic pain pt .instead of doing what is needed,the Dr blames the patient as though it is their fault. I'm retired Army so having worked the emergency department,I don't like to utilize it because too many emergencies get overlooked by clinic issues. Following protocol becomes a joke when you know unless you're absolutely certain you will be heard it's a waste to go. Even contract doctors don't care how they talk to the patient. I'm tired of VA Drs thinking it is ok to cuss me disrespect me and turn around and call security as though I'm guilty. I'm supposed to trust my life in the hands of doctors who cuss me for their actions?? I don't think so.I literally could have died because a physician who could have taken time to talk with me and find out from me,what was occurring,he overracted, sending me home without treatment,I have to believe that only God protected me,the VA certainly didn't. Afterwards,I've had zero followup care,as is protocol for pulmonary embolism.I've seen no one,except a Dr who verbally was abusive stating he wasn't giving me narcotics. I didn't even know his name,Yet immediately he was bombarding me with negativity.I already had a pain Dr i didn't need anything from him but help in understanding the recovery process from a p.e. He no longer is my doctor. The VA has zero accountability or oversight when doctors are abusive,unethical and if you have no family or even friends to advocate for you...you have to advocate for yourself,usually this will land you on the disruptive list. As long as vets are blamed ,(even though the staff is wrong) VA is happy...stand up for your rights,you will not have many people who will help,no matter what. Keeping the other Drs happy is more important than standing up to properly care for the patient.The words of any staff who has access to your records can write whatever they want,most of the time,the vet can't read their own record.If you believe that what you say to staff is written as you have stated,surprisingly from your mouth to their ear to the record the information tends to get muddied if it serves a purpose.How can a Dr write an assessment of a person he's never spoken to,seen ,only assumed what someone else told him was truth?
We are supposed to be able to trust the person who has our life in their hands...how can we when many times it seems as though they want you to die...we're considered has beens...leftovers, collateral damage.. If you can't do the active duty position,they discard you...Even when they have mistakenly misdiagnosed or failed to render proper care. It saddens me that the VA has forgotten the purpose and ignore the core values. Many have paid the ultimate price,it's shameful to realize that not only are soldiers paying too high a price now the vets are being used as specimens for medical trials and there's literally no respect whatsoever. Which is worse,dying by ultimate sacrifice or death by a million papercuts??
Berta Simmons
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I had no IMO doctor nor would any lawyer help me. That's OK I won.
The OGC told a veteran who they had already determined had been malpractice on,that the malpraticing doctor was NOT a VA employee, but an independent contractor-(by time the OGC shared that info with the veteran and his lawyer, his Statute of Limits ( only one year in California ) ran out.
I have gone through recent GAO reports, The OGC handbook on NPDB, etc etc ,NPDB itself and have learned that an independent contractor working in a VA is as susceptible to the reporting requirements of the NDBP as a VA employed- medical person.
I have presented a Bill to Congressman Roe on this because none of the doctors who malpracticed on my husband were never reported to the NPDB.
But they were all VA employees-
I believe the OGC lied to this veteran and to his attorney---
Have you had any situation like the above ?
As far as I know neither the lawyer or the veteran even checked to see if the doctor was an independent contractor and that is public info available to anyone on the VA web site.
I am a volunteer disabled veterans advocate.This is why I am asking on behalf of any other veteran who is in the same boat.
James W Perry
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Wayne Ellis
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joe santello
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Richard Liljeblad
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patrick p axt
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The attach letter I wrote after the ordeal with trying to get help for my bleeding of the ear, hearing crickets, pulp, and sinus infection. Everything takes so long to get attention for.
This is getting out of hand on trying to get the proper help. Now my physical health is getting bad, whats next. Its going to keep getting worse where one day I will not be able to pull myself out from this hell. I had enough of this abuse.
My life is upside down. I'm done on putting that fake face on seeming like its getting better, and when I see the whole picture, its getting worse. my whole life is on hold because of what part of the VA is not doing.
It really hurts because the VA is suppose to be there for me and other veterans. Its like I'm re-living my childhood abuse from what is going on.
Its not me, its the VA that has to work together to make me and other veterans whole. Its not me,
I have been trying. I hate writing this but I have no choice I have to move forward from this. Its been 4 months and I completey hate my life right now and its upside down from not getting the proper help.
Kathy Saunders
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Over the years my father-in-law went to the Va hospital in Northport every 3 months for routine check ups and blood work. While reading an article online, can't remember the website, studies have shown that military personnel, that contacted Agent Orange in Vietnam, there where a multitude new side effects of Agent Orange. As I continued to read on, one of the new side effects was "Stoke ". This would have raised his disability percentage 50% or more, depending on the severity of his stroke. Armed with this new information, we began the long, hard road to have him reevaluated in the hopes of having his disability percentage raised. During this time, my husband, mother-in-law, and I accompanied my father-in-law to his appointments and on 2 separate occasions was denied access into the examination room with him. Even though my father-in-law granted us permission, they still denied us. This behavior on their part left us angry and very, very suspicious
This past year, he began complaining about severe lower back pain and began to lose his balance and fall.. When he relayed this to his VA doctor, it was brushed off as a pinched nerve or pulled muscle. The doctor told him to take Tylenol for the pain and take it easy, he should be fine. On January 6, 2018, he fell out of bed. My brother, who was at the house helping my mother-in-law, while my husband was at work, was able to pick him up and put him back in bed. Unfortunately, it was decided that maybe it was time he needed 24 hour care and that a nursing home would be our best option. The following day he woke up and was unable to move. We called an ambulance, for fear he may have suffered another stroke. Upon being released from the hospital and with difficult and heartbreaking decision made, he was put in a nursing home. Shortly after arriving at the nursing home he was sent back to the hospital. Blood test performed at the hospital showed that he had cancer. A PET scan revealed that he had lung, pancreatic, prostate, and liver cancer. The Oncologist informed us that this just doesn't happen overnight and that he has had cancer for a long time. On May 8, 2018 my father-in-law lost his battle with cancer. He died with my husband holding his hand.
My father-in-law had been going to the VA for 22 years and not one doctor or specialist caught the cancer. How is it that the hospital, who ran the same exact bloodwork as the VA, was able to find cancer and they didn't????? In my opinion, I believe it has to do with money. Had they been the one's to confirm his cancer, they would of had no choice but to pay him at a higher disability rate.
Dave Wilson
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Erin L Davis
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Rob ismail
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allan denton
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Teresa J Page
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Frank Ruiz
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James Hattabaugh
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Life is not much worth living with 100% service-connected anxiety and chronic pain..I wrote my primary care doctor 3 times and the Director 2 times, the patient advocate, and the chief of staff,along with doctor and Director, this last time, 18 days ago, and here I sit in the VA revisiting the patient advocate, telling them it's been 18 days since I handed you and three others my letter, and i have not heard from any of the four..not a reply since my first letter about 10 months ago.
I read a post from last year stating that "No one cares @ the VA" I don't want to think that, yet what outfit does not respond to one of their clients, that has "their" highest rating !? To allow a veteran to suffer by cutting off the same medications he/she has been prescribed for decades IS CRIMINAL..Jim Hattabaugh, Wichita, KS
Augusta
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Lynda Smolinsky
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Mark Clark
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"Severe complicated PTSD resulting primarily from va malpractice consisting of mishandling of what was originally a mild ptsd exposure made lethal by compounded betrayal incidents perpetrated by va psychiatrists.
David Edwards
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So I took it upon myself to explore what happened July 14/15 1967 at Danang Air Base. One of my missing memory situations. As I told her I was talking to another guy that night as we were both waiting for a chopper to Chu Lai in the morning. I had told my therapist that as this guy and I were talking a jet aircraft 50 yards in front of the hanger we were waiting in just exploded and we hit the ground. I saw that there were Vietnamese people running around but thought this was an accident and they were there to put the fire out. My next memory was the next day and I was getting off the chopper to see my brother and meet a Stars and Stripe newspaper photographer to have our pictures taken for a story of brothers in the war zone at the same time, which wasn't required in those days.
When I googled the date I found a horrible event had taken place. In brief 75 marines were wounded 9 kia when the barracks they were sleeping in was rocketed and mortared, 12 aircraft were destroyed, the ammo dump filled with 500 lb. bombs was hit and destroyed. The Vietnamese I saw were sappers with satchel charges. After going to web sites of vets that were there at the time I learned more. So, I tell all this to the therapist first thing at the appt. She handed me 5 or 6 sheets of paper and said I want you to take these home and read it and answer the questions on the last page. I agreed, she then pulled out another set of the same papers and began reading every word on them to me and my time was up. To say the least I was surprised the experience wasn't explored in more detail with me, but agreed to see her next week. I said to her I will really need you next week as that is the anniversary date of that event, and left confused. Well after being in one of the worst depressions of my life I couldn't wait to see her. I hadn't slept or eaten by that time for 3 days. So I get in the shower and, you guessed it my wife came and told me my appt was cancelled AGAIN and on the anniversary. When I complained to her supervisor he said I don't know why she cancelled, and I said "I don't give a sh-- why, if she had done to another vet what she has done to me and he put a bullet in her head then I could understand why my appt was cancelled". Well that wasn't the best metaphor to use because His notes read that I was going to put a bullet in my therapist head. Since then I have been to patient advocates,administrators,etc. all to no avail. Once it is written in your myhealthyvet.com va notes its written in stone. I then got a notice to go to the same center but to see my psychiatrist to renew my meds. So I went and was talking to another vet also waiting for an appt. We were chatting when I heard this woman scream my name, I turned as the other vet yelled back "he's not deaf". Little did he know that I am deaf in my right ear and have very little hearing in my left. The abuse continued in her office and I was bewildered because I have never had a problem with her. I told her look I am here to have my meds renewed, not liking the ptsd therapist has no bearing here. She told me that she likes her and I will have to go somewhere else to get my meds. And so it goes on and on. These people who call themselves doctors and treat vets the way they do has convinced me that they need to be retrained or fired.
If anyone knows how I can either get this lie repaired or a lawyer who can help me. I am even willing to pay for lie detector tests for both myself and the person who lied about I said. I need help from someone.
Warman Em
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BOB B.
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I was furious with the VA and called the patient advocate. She looked up my record and said the VA x-ray from December 2014 showed I had a broken foot.
Even more furious now, I filed a claim for malpractice and the VA denied my claim because they said my treatment met the standard of care expected by reasonable medical experts.
Dan
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Sandra Montalvo
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James Huff
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David Gray
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Amanda Long
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Dayton
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Sandra Hale
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Michigan
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frank ruiz
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Susan Eversoll
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kidd
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frank
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Phoenix Arizona
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Thank you.
tasha
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I told my doctor in september I think I have a sinus infection and I think I need antibiotics, she countered with I think u have allergies heres some useless allergy medicine, fast forward a month of intense migraines and sinus pressure til I get a bad cough and ask for antibiotics again, which they just played games with me for a week sayin they sent it in the mail when they didnt, finally got my meds a few days ago after going to the er several times, waiting for it to take effect I got this loud annoying ringing in my ear, pains everywhere, losing balance, vision is blurrier in one eye now... there were ppl tellin me the meds were mailed, that they werent mailed, that the scipt was processed, not processed, that its waiting for pickup, its out for delivery, smh they shouldnt be playin with ppls medications like that. Then they said that antibiotics arent supposed to be mailed out without an appt cuz u need an exam to see which antibiotic is best, when I asked for antibiotics I asked if I needed to make another appt to get em and they told me no. they a mess. made a request to see an ear nose throat specialist and an eye doctor, trying to get outside care and hoping the meds do their work. I have a long list of symptoms that have been only growing as time goes by but the drs at buffalo va seem incompetent. now I realize the drs at all va hospitals are incompetent. wth
James Steig
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kevin defevers
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To whom it may concern:
I am hoping that when you read this that I am still alive and hopeful that someone will manage my pain.
I am a disabled US Army Veteran and chronic pain patient. I have spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, Herniated disks and nerve impingement, with ten of my vertebra damaged or deformed in some manner. In the beginning, approximately twelve years or more ago, I saw my doctor at the Lawrenceburg, Indiana CBOC who wrote for 240 Percocet to be taken two pills four times daily. My sobriety date is January 16, 2002! On the second month I took my refill of 240 pills and another hundred or so and told the Dr. I could not take these for the reason that they altered my thinking and made me feel like I was wasted and that I could see a drink in my future if I continued with these pills. I am sober 13 years and ninet months. I also have COPD and Panic disorder which Dr. L; my VA Psychiatrist has treated for almost fifteen years. I was told “that’s all I will write for you” so I left and went outside of the VA. I have had eight facet injections and eight epidural injections as well as a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my spine and almost a year of physical therapy. I do have all pertinent medical documentation of procedures and medication and physical therapy as well as my physician who cared for me for the time I was outside of the VA.
I have managed to stay on hydrocodone for the last ten years and Ibuprophen 800mg. About three years ago maybe four, I moved to Charleston, SC and saw the VA doctor there. I produced the CAT scan MRI and 3d x-rays that I personally paid for because the VA doctors said I did not meet their protocol for them to do the tests, and was told, and I quote!" what drug do you want I will give you morphine, oxycodone, methadone or whatever you want", I told him Hydrocodone and took it for over a year with the Ibuprophen. This is noted by him in my medical records and when my pain changed and I went to see him a year later he said to me “I offered you any drug you wanted and I documented it in your record so I know that you are in major pain". We discussed my options and I was placed on four morphine tablets per day. At first four made my breathing difficult as I also have COPD so I emailed the Dr. and told him to take one away. This is all part of my medical records.
I moved back to Cincinnati about two and one half years ago and started seeing Dr. Paranandi, she continued the three, morphine and three Norco, but my pain was never under a five or six on a ten scale. I spoke to her and she had tried to raise the Norco with no relief, she then added the fourth 15mg Morphine, we finally had my pain under control. Later she told me that she was uncomfortable writing so much morphine, so we tried three and there was no breakthrough of my pain .I was a five or six with medicine and a four or three with the four morphine. and up until now I have functioned regularly and been active and my depression had been under control. I am feeling it come back now just by the pain I am in and what I have to look forward to. Is someone really logically thinking this action through? I have a hard time believing that in my case when I came back to Ohio, the VA let me run out of Morphine 5 times in nine months, one time for 5 days.
Dr. L put me on an antidepressant because the pain had me thinking about taking my own life many times. Now I am on two antidepressants and am still depressed. I spent a year secluded, waking only to take pills and go back to sleep. For a year I prayed to not wake but I always did.
So first fact is, "the VA does not operate for pain" I gave them the scans and x-rays which were supposed to be returned but they were not. While using my outside insurance I had 18 injections, (9 Facet & 9 Epidural) and a spinal cord stimulator implanted, a total of eleven months of physical therapy and did it all on Norco for ten years. I have degenerative disc disease, tenia, spinal stenosis and so many pain sites that my surgeon has ordered a special test Radio Frequency Oblation Test, to see if he can help me at all.
The Neurologist says he can promise me nothing; accept for more pain if I have the surgery.
OK, summarize; If over ten years ago I had continued on oxycodone 240 pills a month I would probably need IV drugs by now and I will never forget what the VA doctor who put me on the oxycodone said to me, "you will be on this or something like it for the rest of your life"!
I certainly do not agree that the DEA has the right to harass people who medically need these types of medications, but since doctors don't carry guns and the cartels do they screw with the doctors.
I had to stop and take Morphine as my pain level is off the chart. A doctor takes an oath that binds him to care for his patient to the best of his abilities and to relieve pain and suffering and allow one to die with dignity. I am asking for no less here. Since I became sober I achieved two Bachelor’s degrees with honors in Social Work and Clinical Psychology, and will be happy to provide the documents. You see, when my pain is controlled I am a productive member of society. I volunteer, sponsor, do Jail meetings and have dedicated my life to help the Veterans who are committing suicide at a rate of 3500 every month, (the untold cost of war), remember the college, I graduated in 2010, CUM LAUDE!
I also found it interesting that the studies that were referred to in the literature and the high overdose rates among narcotic users. I just watched a documentary about the Heroin epidemic and the state of Florida writes more narcotics than all states combined and multiple states have a class action suit against the makers of OxyContin. Do you see? And where is the DEA? I am no criminal, I am a simple man with pain that wakes me every day and keeps me up at night. It takes away my will to live and makes me useless. I feel that today is the beginning of the end and I had hoped for at least five more good years of life, but that was crushed today.
Do you really think that you are being my doctor? If you do then I need a new doctor, one who listens and understands what it is like to have an ear ache and a tooth ache at the same time while having a migraine and then maybe you might know how bad my pain really gets. I do not want these pills; I have no choice as none have been given to me. Everything else has failed and before you bring back my pain shouldn't you give me some tools to help lower it first. Why do I have to suffer when it is within your power to stop my suffering?
Now for the pain clinic; I received a notice that I had 5 appointments at the VAMC in Cincinnati, Ohio and I showed up for the appointments. I saw 5 different people and Dr. Plunkett was number 5 so when he said he was done I left. I have several untruths in my medical records so I do keep track of what is going on. I read the notes from the pain clinic and was shocked to see what they had written. First, I was asked to give them a urine for a drug screen and I told them that I have prostate inflammation and could not urinate and that I had just given Dr. P a urine 2 weeks prior and they could use it, I also told them that if they wanted another urine I would call my doctor with which I had a pain contract and schedule to give it to her as I have to drink a mass amount of fluids in order to urinate and it takes several hours for me to build up enough to fill the cup. I noticed that the pain clinic put that I walked out when I found out I had to give them urine and that I did not see all of my appointments. My letter did not contain five names it said the pain nurse, the pain doctor, the pain Psychologist, the Pain Psychiatrist and someone else. I saw so many people that day and was overwhelmed to say the least. I scheduled an appointment with Dr. P for July 2, 2014 and kept the appointment and gave them urine. It was posted and Negative the second week in July. I went back later to print my records and the urine was gone, someone had deleted it and Dr. P’s notes showed she made addendums on my notes for the second in August.
I also told the pain clinic that I had visited my sister in Colorado and while there got a contact high while riding in the car with them while they were smoking weed but that was a couple weeks ago and they put that I was smoking Hash! I also noticed that the pain Psychiatrist is an Intern! Well the first time I saw her she said to me “I am cutting all of your meds in ½ and I am also taking away two of your Psychiatric pills, (Ativan), which is prescribed by my Psychiatrist at the VA who I have been seeing for over 15 years (Dr. L). I did have one prior appointment with the Psychologist and no physical therapy, nor did I have the back brace, no arch supports so how did I have any tools to deal with my pain being given back to me like I was an animal? I complained because Dr. Pt told me he was my pain Dr. and he told me a totally different concept of decreasing my medications so I was given a week’s supply and we had a conference. At the conference, Dr. Pt was my pain doctor but it was the Intern who was controlling my medications. I told her to leave my Psychotropic meds for panic disorder alone and I would have him take one of my pills away when I saw him in three weeks and I did exactly that. I also had him write my Norco and went to an outside doctor and cancelled my pain contracts with Dr. P and the pain clinic in writing. I would also like to let you know that now it has been over two months and I have not seen a physical therapist as she has called in sick for my last two appointments. It will be three month before I see her if she comes to work on my next scheduled appointment.
As I read through the pain clinic notes I see so many discrepancies that it makes my head spin and remember I do have a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology as well as Social Work, both I graduated Cum Laude.
So as I read through the notes I keep seeing where they are offering me so many options and suggesting so many helpful tools. I have filed to have my records amended because I was tested at the VA in 1999 and diagnosed with multiple personality disorders and after 3 years of sobriety the same Psychologist (Dr. Maureen Cash) re-tested me and in her words she said if she had not given me both sets of tests that she could testify that two different people had been tested! I am that person now, and have been since my sobriety. Every appointment at the pain clinic resulted in another derogatory report, crucifying my character and writing a great deal of opinion.
I am now opioid free and managing OK, and it was my choices and my effort and not that of the pain clinic, or any assistance from them that I became free of the drugs. I can honestly say that all the pain clinic did was given me unbearable pain and anxiety and defamation of my character and a desire to end the madness.
I am here and still sober and wish that someone responsible would take a deep look at the pain clinics practices because many will die if they are allowed to continue in the manner that almost cost me my life. I spoke to every Veteran I could while I waited for my scheduled appointments and every single one had the same experience as I did and none were satisfied with the way their lives were thrown into turmoil and their character crucified.
The testing done on me did not take into account that I am sober and have shown by the second MMPI II no personality disorders. Actually the opposite was done! Dr. Pt referred to the testing done in 1999 and acted as if the more recent testing did not exist. They found what they could use against me and not facts. They wrote more opinion on my medical records than fact and I was unaware that opinion was suitable for use in my medical records.
I googled Dr. Pt, and he has two private pain offices and works full time for the VA. I also made it a point to ask every veteran when I went to the pain clinic about their experience and theirs was just as mine. I spoke with Dr. P and explained that I do not want to ever take Morphine again and that I do not need pain pills every day, buy I asked her to write for 30 Norco per month and she said that she could or would not write anything because of the pain clinic. So she said she would re-refer me back to the pain clinic and we know what happens there! I was on 45mg of Morphine per day and 30mg of Norco for a few years and now 30 pills is a problem.
When I left the VA, the pain Doctor said that from what he saw on my scans I was on much too low a dose of Morphine and doubled it to 90mg per day. I could not take that and still have a mindset so I walked out and took myself off of the pain meds.
Joseph Libasci
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Thomas Johnson
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3rd ID
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Solomon BEY
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Larry Jones
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with many infections still waiting,dentist bill va for work he did not do to my mouth.
Kentucky
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New York
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Massachusetts
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North Carolina
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Until one day an intern student went to my room and asked what we're doing today. For two years I’ve been waiting to treat my shoulder and only student came to me without doctor. I raised my voice and told him that I need an orthopedic doctor , the next time I know the surgeon came was angry and told me that I should never yelled his student.
That's the start where they wrongly cut my tendons in my shoulder instead of just clean out or scraping. But when I woke up, I saw my tendons on my elbow, and Dr. Crosbey did it. I asked why they cut and he said "sometimes we'll do it.” Then after 3 months this doctor from Dayton VA hospital that cut both my tendons left to Florida. After a year I went to my advocate to fix my arms but they never did only just laugh on me. So I let Dr. Ames, an outside surgeon doctor fixed my arms and he found out that the tendons was already rotten. He found ways to fix it but he said only 20% left use and next surgery will lock it up.
In 2007, I went to my kidney doctor for I had always pain in my mid stomach so I had my MRI done. But the VA doctor told me that it was only enlarge a little, eight days later I went to Kettering Medical Center because I was in pain at 1:45 AM. So I was rushed in for surgery and found out 25 gallstone and get ready to bust and ended up in Mersa because it was already infected.
The summer 2010, my legs given up and I have chest pain and my Primary Care doctor send me to vascular surgeon to check my blood clots. She can't find anything and told me that nothing wrong with it. But by 2:30 AM I got up and went to Kettering Medical Center and was put to ICU and found out that I have 5 blood clots, two in each legs and one in my left and right lungs and now I'm immune in blood clots due to I'm already immune. My blood clots was bigger than my fists. I will be dead right now if they did not done it soon.
There's been a lot of misdiagnosis that they did that I think they made it in purpose because I made lots of complained to the doctors in Dayton VA Hospital and I think I am already in their .hit list.
I am mentally and physically abused by them that I was in hospital bed more than walking. In 2013, I have 2 root canals and it took me forever to get in. For over a month I was given the strongest antibiotic they have. But because of poor sanitation and hygiene or without proper sterilization my gum was infected. I was admitted in Dayton VA because my levels bottoms out,
I was their for 3 days and they were giving me double on my antibiotics without informing me. My heart rate stayed at 220 beats a minute the whole time I was there ,and I would show the nurses but they all said the same thing. "If I was you, I would go back and lay down. My heart just dropped, and on the third day I went into two cardiac arrests and they were six nurses in there and all my water was running off me like a running stream. I asked if anyone going to help me or what. They just said we're doing it. My blood pressure was 240 over 140 an heart rate was 43.I was dying and they were letting me die, I put my head between my legs and prayed, and woke up by myself with my belly button was over the rail, and hanging over upside down, I was alone. My Doctor came in the room and said I heard you had an episode, and grinned, went in my second over dose and I know this for sure if it wasn’t for my God Almighty, I would have died last labor day.
Now my teeth costing me around $6 thousand dollars to fix for what the Dayton VA clinic done to me. for 10 yrs. I'm about to give up hope of being heard and being help. Last week my primary doctor raised my hytrin and doubled my blood pressure andI was lifeless .I live day by day hour by hour, min.by min. I’m a 49 year old man that lost my heart and spirit and tired of being mentally and physically abused. This is my last try. I tried channel 7 news for 6 yrs. and not even a phone call back. I was there Persian Gulf to protect my country and nobody protect and help me now. I WROTE MY CONGRESSMAN 4 TIMES AND NEVER HAD A RESPONSE. I am somebody who is desperately needing someone to help me. Please reach out to me, so I can expose of their wrongdoings. By the way my primary doctor quit after seeing me...The Dayton VA Hospital messed up and if not the Kettering hospital was the one who saved me 5 times from dying. I live in my house and totally disabled now, at 49 lost what things I used to be able to do. The VA Hospital sent me a care provider twice a week and it destroyed where I lived a fun life. It was taken from me, they won't stop trying to kill me until someone stands up for the weak victim and oppressed.
Hoping that this letter will be heard and have a heart and sympathy for me.
Sincerely,
Robert Ingram
937-499-0609
Pennsylvania
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Ohio
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Illinois
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They put me off and put me off until I had to go to the hospital with my leg getting swollen. It turned out to be gangrene. I lost my lower leg. They immediately (2 weeks) kicked me out of the VA and sent me to a rehab center for five months. I then waited for a prosthetic leg and rehab. They sent me back to the VA to restart rehab. We then found out I had a bone infection where then they had to cut off more of my leg. I am still in the VA and waiting on a prosthetic. I have not been home since August 2013. Now still without a prosthetic, they want to kick me out on Sept. 26 2014. NO LEG AND NO REHAB!
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Tennessee
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New York
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Claim for service-connected injury was filed for the amputation and it was denied.
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Michigan
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Missouri
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Anonymous
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In October of 2000 my father took himself into the La Jolla VA hospital in CA and was dismissed after a long wait and after very little attention given to him. The hospital staff sent him home with flu like symptoms. There were no tests given, no blood drawn, nothing to confirm that all he was suffering from was the flu. Mind you my father was a very stubborn man and would have not gone into the hospital seeking help if he thought for a second that he merely had the flu. It turns out he was right and the people that treated him that day where dead wrong.
Not even twenty hours after being dismissed my father staggered into my mother’s garage with a bloody nose and barely able to stand. He told me to drive him to the hospital. Under no circumstances was I to call an ambulance because “I can’t afford it.” He said. Being that I was only 18 what my father said went. I drove him to the La Jolla VA hospital as quickly as I could. Yes he was placed in a room and was given tests but this was not in a very timely manner. Yes he was seen faster than he had the day before but before he slipped into a coma he only received a moderate amount of attention. After he slipped into a coma he got more attention.
One bit of attention I did not appreciate was how the staff, meaning well, without the permission from myself or anyone in my family decided that my father needed to look more presentable. They shaved off his beard and cut off his long hair. Yes my dad looked like a bum to some people. Yes he lived in a truck outside of our house to stay close to myself and my brother. He had a job and it was his choice to live the way he did. He made those choices because of his beliefs and desire to be a nonconformist. After serving his time in the army and overseas in Vietnam he came back to the states and experienced a type of discrimination against him and others who severed during that time. He wore his pride and ideals on the outside with his long hair and long white beard and vet hat. Seeing him shaved and clean cut upset me and my family because it was like the staff slapping us in the face with what they believed was respectable. I digress.
Being that I was the only next of kin that was of age it was my duty to see that my father passed in dignity. I only kept him on life support for four days. It was never his wish to stay on life support. Having to be responsible for his life and death at that age is not easy. His final diagnosis was multiple strokes caused by a clog in the back of his neck. The mini strokes had started when he had originally brought himself in before he suffered a major stroke when he stumbled into my mother’s garage.
Is it possible that if the people that treated him that first day had paid more attention to his symptoms or if they had done a test that would have looked at more than his blood sugar levels would he have lived longer? Would he have been able to come to my weeding four years after this day? Would he had been able to meet his grand kids? Did he die because he looked like a homeless vet? Would he have been given better treatment if he had gone in clean cut and dressed in a manner that would have made the staff see him as anything other than a homeless vet?
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Thank you.
Washington
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Anonymous
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Minnesota
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Well, guess what? I had another seizure, and this time a real doctor took me off the medication. In both cases I could have died had my companion not taken the action he did.
Rhode Island
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Major mood changes affect my ability to communicate effectively with others.
Inability to utilize college education effectively because of mood swings.
Texas
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Anonymous
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I WAS DISCHARGED TO MY VA PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR( MY DIAGNOSIS IS STAGE 4 CHF/STAGE 4 CAD/STAGE 5 ANGINA)
WHEN DISCHARGED TO VA PRIMARY CARE I WAS BEING MEDICATED WITH 150 MLS OF LONG ACTING MORPHINE AND 600 MLGS OF INSTANT RELEASE MORPHINE DAILY. MY VA PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR CUT ME OFF COMPLETELY LEAVING ME IN SEVEAR WITHDRAWALS.
I AM CONFINED TO BED 24/7 AND PASS OUT WITH CHEST PAIN WITH EXCERTION/I HAVE BEEN EVALUATED AND TURNED DOWN FOR HEART TRANSPLANT, HAD 2 OPEN HEARTS, 32 STENT IMPLANTS, ON OXYGEN 24/7 HAVE A DEFIBULATOR/PACEMAKER THAT FIRES DAILY. I AM LEFT IN TERABBLE PAIN AND DISTRESS ALL THE TIME AND MY VA PRIMARY CARE DOCTORS REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING TO HELP ME.
I HAVE COMPLAINED, GONE TO EVERY SOURCE KNOWN TO MAN TO GET ASSISTANCE EVEN PATIEN ADVOCATES. THE VA HAS EVEN GIVEN OUT FALSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME WITHOUT THE BENIFET OF A MEDICAL RELEASE. I AM STUCK TALKING TO DEAF EARS AND IT SEEMS LIKE AJOKE TO THEM. MY DIAGNOSIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED NOT ONLY BY THE VA BUT SEVERAL WELL KNOW CARDIOLOGISTS IN MY AREA( PLEASE NOTE THESE DOCTOS WILL NO LONGER TREAT ME LOCALLY BECAUSE THE VA STIFFED THEM ON THEIR BILLS) THE VA HAS LEFT ME IN OVER 100 GRAND IN DEBT.
THEY ARE GOING TO KILL ME JUST FROM COMPLETE NEGLECT AND STRESS( TRUT ME WHEN I SAY THIS PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR( ONE OF 5 OVER THE LAST 16 MONTHS IS A JOKE) THEY DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME THEY WERE NOT GOING TO SEND ME ANY PAIN MEDS THE JUST DIDN'T AND FOR THE TYPE OF CONDITION I HAVE AND THE AMT OF PAIN MEDICATION I WAS PRESCRIBED THAT IN ITSELF IS VERY DANGERIOUS. WHEN I ASKED HIM ABOUT IT HE SAID OH WELL WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT.
( THIS WAS AT AN OFFICE VIST 40 MILES FROM MY HOME THAT I HAD TO GET OUT OF BED FOR AND TRAVE JUST TO BE ASKED HOW UCH OXYGEN I WAS PRESCRIBED SO HE COULD FILL OUT A FORM FOR MY DISASTER RELIEF AT THE POWR COMPANY0 SOMETHING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE OVER THE TELEPHONE RAHTER THAN MAKE ME EXERT MYSELF FOR NO GOOD REASON. GET THIS, THEY HAVE PRESCRIBED 4 DIFFERENT LAXATIVES PLUS STOOL SOFTENERS AND SUPOSITIORIES AND 2 ENEMAS DAILY( WAY DANGERIOUS ACCORDING TO MY PHARMACY)
I ALSO HAVE A 22 LB HERNIA IN MY GROIN THAT HAS SMASHED MY TESTICLE AND THEY WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT EITHER UNTIL IT RUPTURES. I LOOK LIKE I HAVE A WATERMELLON BETWEEN MY LEGS. I SHOULD BE ON END OF LIFE CARE( PAID FOR BY THE VA ) BUT THATS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN EVEN AS LITTLE AS HOME NURSING SERVICE. MY WIFE HAS TO CARE FOR ME( wash,bath cook ect) and I have a 11 year old girl watching me suffer all the time. i kept my word and served when my country needed me, why can't the va keep their promises for proper medical treatment by qualified caring doctors
Georgia
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Texas
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Illinois
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seizures. I lost employment with the postal service due to the mental disorder misdiagnosis. The diagnosis was from a long military hospital stay and a brief VA hospital stay. Both were for disability ratings.
I had asked on behalf of my doctor for the military to relocate me when the base was scheduled too close in our town, but I never received any reply. Moreover, I have asked the VA because I have residual tumor to relocate me. I have received a letter
from the director citing that they do not have any funds for such even though I informed him that I have seizures and will have to give up driving cars. I can only get to the VA hospital via by bus.
South Carolina
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California
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Nebraska
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Arkansas
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Virginia
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Spouse has been denied continued VA Disability income checks. Wrongful death of patient who was only 68 years old. We can not put a price on the life of my father. His death has created emotional and financial burdens on my mother and family.
Oregon
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Kentucky
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His current vascular surgeon/wound care doc at the nursing home where he has been since release said he would never have done a surgery on my father with his medical conditions without performing and angiogram or doppler study.
Dr. Macxxx has since ordered the doppler which showed only 30-40% pressure in the left leg. Because of this and the fact that the VA did not cut the bone far enough down the wound has no chance of healing.
Due to his health status putting him through the necesary surgery to try and fix the blood flow and bone could kill him. My father is 89 years old.
Currently he is in a nursing home and has been for 3 weeks. We are now having to pay $125 a day for care.
California
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I walked into the VA hospital for the amputation and was not able after 8 days in the hospital to get out of bed because of pain in my spine. I was sent home and received physical therapy.
I kept requesting an MRI. Finally they gave me a x-ray and said I had bad arthritis. I progressively got worse and ended up in the emergency room of my local hospital where they did a Catscan which showed that within 7 weeks of discharge from the hospital my spine was being eaten away. One whole spinal bone and half of two others were gone.
I was transferred to San Joaquin Hospital of Bakersfield, CA where they did more test. Then was transferred to VA Hospital in Los Angeles. I have been in the hospital for a month and presently am still in the hospital.
During my initial stay at the hospital in Fresno, I was given a Potassium supplement and was sent home with a bottle to be taken at home. I am a dialysis patient and almost died January 31, 2007 from renal failure that caused a lethal level of Potassium that ended up giving me a heart attack. You don't give dialysis patients Potassium. My dialysis doctor told me to throw the Potassium pills away.
I have been in a hospital bed for 1 month and have not been given any physical therapy. I don't know if I will ever be able to walk again and I am deficating from the injury to my spine. I am in constant pain and am on morphine. The hospital is still treating my highly contagious staph infection. I was not told I had a staph infection until I went to the Bakersfield hospital.
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Visited VA ER in Spokane Oct 25, after 3.5 hour wait was denied service by ER Doctor for service connected disability.
Visited ER Oct 27 at Holy Family for emergency treatment.
Recontacted VA Spokane via phone Oct 29, handed off several times, left numerous messages. Was told VA could not assist by Px person.
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After having been made to suffer with severely painful and bleeding hemorroids for over two years, I was finally convinced by a V.A. surgeon that a stapling would completely relieve my very large internal hemorroids. The surgeon also said that it would take care of the external one's I had as well.
After the surgery, the bleeding slowly subsided, but the pain didn't. After 6 weeks, I was re-examined. The surgeon said I was healing nicely and my internal hemorroids were nearly gone.
I expressed concerns over the pain and external swelling, but he said it should go away.
I also had noticed a piece of loose skin hanging near the surgical site that was causing me pain. When I asked about it, the surgeon called it a "skin tag" and said that he must have missed it in surgery. Though he said he would remove it at a later visit, the appointment was never scheduled.
After more time passing, my problem persisted, getting more painful all the time. I requested another consult with the surgeon, who said that I needed more surgery to fix the problem. He was recommending an advanced whitehead hemorroidectomy (quite painful), and said that it would definitively fix the problem.
I expressed wanting a second opinion, and he sent me to Portland V.A. Medical Center for a surgical consult.
In Portland, they concluded that surgery wasn't going to help me at all. They further questioned why my original surgery had been performed at all. When I mentioned the "skin tag" from my former surgery, they said it was "sloppy" of him to leave it and that it should have been removed. Although the surgeon who performed my original surgery had said just a month before that my internal hemorroids were nearly gone, the Portland consult revealed that they were very large still and that taking care of them by a non-surgical banding procedure would fix both the internal and external hemorroids.
I still suffer with the same pain and problems with hemorroids as before the surgery began.
I was misled, lied to, and now I don't know who to trust or what to do to fix my medical problem.
Please, help me if you can. There is much more to this story than I have said here. I am also having just as much trouble getting continuing mental health care for PTSD.
I hope and pray that someone will do something to stop this injustice to the men who served our country.
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