The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) has uncovered new data indicating that the Department of Veterans Affairs has paid more than $200 million in the wrongful death suits of more than 1,000 veterans. According to the Seattle Times, those payouts occurred in the decade following 9/11.
The wrongful death suits ranged from vets who committed suicide after being denied mental health treatment to botched surgeries to cancer misdiagnoses to elder neglect in VA nursing homes.
In response to these findings, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs scheduled a hearing on preventable deaths, and took the VA to task for failing to properly reprimand officials who were responsible for such deaths – including several officials who were actually given performance bonuses rather than disciplined.
Independent legal analysts point out that the actual number of wrongful deaths attributable to negligence and malpractice on the part of the VA is much higher, but that filing a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs is difficult due to an exhaustive administrative review process and the fact that families can only win actual, rather than punitive, damages from the federal government.
Have you lost a family member due to negligence on the part of the VA? Contact the VA malpractice attorneys at Hodes Milman today at (949) 640-8222 or online at verdictvictory.com to learn more about your options.
