Medical malpractice and hospital negligence throughout the Veterans Administration has received a significant amount of media attention recently, ultimately resulting in the resignation of the secretary of the VA. You may have read about the situation in our previous blog posts.
A wrongful death lawsuit has recently been settled between a victim’s family and one VA hospital. This news continues to underscore the hospital negligence that seems to be plaguing the VA’s facilities.
The lawsuit was filed by the family of an 83-year-old navy veteran who contracted Legionnaire’s disease and died after being admitted to the hospital to be treated for a urinary tract infection. More than 20 patients became sick with the disease at this particular hospital, and at least six patients died during the outbreak.
The attorney for the victim’s family said that the settlement amount was relatively low in this case because the veteran was already elderly and no one was financially dependent on him.
Damages in wrongful death lawsuits are usually based on the financial loss to the victim’s family members. Therefore, if the victim was a young man who was supporting a family, the settlement amount may have been higher.
As this case illustrates, terrible and tragic results can occur when a hospital or medical care provider breaches the basic duty to provide an acceptable standard of care. San Francisco residents who have lost a loved one, or who have themselves suffered due to hospital negligence, should consider talking to an attorney to learn their legal options.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, “Pittsburgh VA settles legionnaire’s suit for $227K,” Joe Mandak, June 5, 2014
