Bloomberg News recently reported that a veteran, Christopher Ellison, was awarded a $17.5 million dollar verdict against the Veterans Administration when a botched routine dental visit resulted in Ellison becoming permanently incapacitated. This was the highest verdict obtained against the agency in the last twelve years and according to information obtained through a Freedom Of Information Act request, it was one of more than 400 payments the U.S. government made last year to settle malpractice claims brought against the VA. According to Bloomberg News, the cases have “…..included misdiagnoses, delayed treatment, and procedures performed on wrong body parts.” As the agency tends to more former servicemen, including those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, claims against the VA will likely continue to increase.
There are special considerations in filing malpractice actions against the Veterans Administration that attorneys must be experienced in, including the fact that an administrative claim must be presented to the Veterans Administration before a lawsuit can be filed. The attorneys at Shapiro, Cohen and Basinger, Ltd. have handled many cases against the VA and are very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of these specialized actions.
Please feel free to call our firm if you need to obtain further information.