VA malpractice sepsis

VA Malpractice: Agency Pays $300k For Sepsis Death

In a VA malpractice lawsuit, the family of a veteran who died from sepsis will receive a settlement payment of $300k.

Veteran Larry Farley died from sepsis in 2016 after the agency failed to diagnosis and timely treat the condition at a facility in Columbia, Missouri. His symptoms included difficulty breathing. He died a couple days after that point.

Erica Smith, Williams’ daughter, filed the lawsuit on behalf of her father’s estate.

“While Williams was in a state of respiratory distress, the clinicians responsible for his care ordered a necessary test as routine rather than urgent. A six-hour delay resulted that ended with Williams’ death,” the court documents state.

“Williams ultimately died from anoxia secondary to laryngeal edema and sepsis complicated by drug intoxication from Haldol and lorazepam.”

Veterans increasingly are struggling to receive appropriate care from VA for sepsis, which can be can result in death if not timely treated by a physician.

Sepsis results when harmful bacterial release toxins into your blood or tissue that lead to infections. Sepsis forms after a person’s immune system works to fight the infection by releasing chemicals into the bloodstream.

Resultant inflammation can result that spreads throughout the body. Part of the inflammatory response can result in debilitating stress on certain organs causing organ failure.

Each year, 250,000 people die from sepsis, and some of these are no doubt the result of malpractice at a given facility.

The following is a short list of examples where negligence could lead to that outcome that many of us have heard of at certain VA medical centers:

  • When medical devices and equipment are not properly sterilized
  • Inadequate filtration of cooling and heating systems
  • Poor overall sanitation practices
  • Poor care of bedsores and surgical wounds that lead to improper healing
  • The use of defective medical products

Frequently, clinicians fail to timely diagnose the condition resulting in further injury or even death.

Do you have a sepsis story you’d like to share?

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24 Comments

  1. Make a choice. Take some responsibility. The phone book is full of providers. Be careful what you wish for. Private sector has far less accountability that the VA.

  2. Keep your concerns and complaints coming – if everyone submitted their bad experience with the VA the internet would probably crash LOL – Don’t stop until the VAHCS is performing their job to the standards of excellence – Veterans deserve quality health care and nothing less.

    To answer your question about getting sepsis, almost. I was told that I should be extremely concerned about this happening to me. I won’t go into detail about my hellish medical drama with the VA. The bottom line is as a result of the poor VA healthcare, I was one day from death. But then as a fluke a non-VA doctor saw my labs and I was saved by the VA. After six years and some major surgeries I am finally hopeful that I will be back to normal. Not the same but healthy. Thank you GOD.

    One more comment similar to another’s comment above – yes what about those lost years we will never get back?

    Peace out

    1. Writing your concerns and complaints and bad experiences on this forum is NOT submitting them to the VA or the VAHCS. They don’t go anywhere from here.

  3. So when you are told by the VA that you need a joint replacement and they authorize it in a letter to the local hospital…and then 5 months later they still refuse to pay for it then what do ou do other then get attorneys involved?

  4. I think I’ll start looking for a good Veterinarian. What? They have better medical training and compassion for us animals. Besides, I’ll probably get a treat and a belly rub.

  5. No sepsis tale but when I utilized the VA before my 3x strikes near death by them, and mind you, I already on a normal day, having anxiety based extreme Irritable Bowel Disease, meaning I keep a few cases of toilet paper on-hand at all times; comes the VA in their dirty filthy atmosphere, and I have chronic immune issues, had a case of C-DIFF so bad my Medicare gastrointestinal specialist was afraid it had further weaken my immune system because I was in and out of Medicare/real drs, hospital and dehydrated several times from the active spores of C-DIFF at VA…knew how because others had same experience at the old Columbus VA.

    C-DIFF is an incredibly difficult to eradicate organism. Like the VA.

  6. new lawsuit filed google
    News Room
    In Response to NVLSP’s Class Action Lawsuit, VA Admits It Misled Tens of Thousands of Veterans

  7. Update on va employee that stoped a shooting in fl and took a bullet. Worman comp denied his claim welcome to our world. Whole system a fraud and a sham

  8. Mr. Krause: You are an attorney; or are you a journalist? You own this blog; you generated “DisabledVeterans.org”. There is power in numbers and from what I have read, and continue to read – you have generated a substantial audience. Somewhere within the legal education there exists a process termed “class-action” litigation. But it takes organization and determination. I would love to tell you about the danger zone that the VA has placed me within because they duped me into believing that after an arthroscopy, which resulted in mild osteoporosis (No bone-on-bone), they insisted that I be fee-based to an orthopedic practice of which this VA Orthopedist has a financial interest. I fell for it. They said paralysis was imminent if I did not have the total knee replacement. But guess what. They forgot to tell me that it was already known by Zimmer that the prosthesis had been recalled because it was defective. But they put it in me anyway – and it crippled me. But I do not want to talk about it; I intend to do something about it. Now I get to do it all again, but my chances of acquiring a post-operative infection have quadrupled and the VA does nothing. If Dewayne Johnson can take on Monsanto/Bayer and win; my hope is that all of the complaints expressed on your blogs will one day result in action and lucrative outcomes – despite Mr. Johnson’s unfortunate prognosis. To me, you seem to represent the Sean Hannity of Veterans Affairs. Announcing news topics….talk, talk, talk. So where is the redemption in the promise of a square deal? If I had your credentials, and one day I may; from an investigative malpractice perspective – I would be all over it and everywhere! You could be doing so much more than what you are – and I will. Stay tuned.

  9. Not a sepsis story, but one showing why it could happen at a VA.
    Yesterday I had my first appointment with a private primary care doctor. I had forgotten what proper medical care was like. The appointment was within 10 minutes of the scheduled time, and I spent at least 45 minutes with him. After a more thorough examination than I have had in over 10 years, I was given a take home screening, referred to an Ortho doc for metal on metal grinding on my knee replacement, I declined a different referral offered, had blood work done, an EKG done and was out. I can’t remember the last time I spent more than 15 minutes with a VA doctor/nurse/nurse practitioner/etc for any reason. Typical VA appointments were 10 minutes watching a failed nurse practitioner trying to type into a computer. This doesn’t count the times I was told the appointment was cancelled while sitting in the waiting room.

    I cancelled my last VA primary care appointment after my primary care doc (nurse practitioner) had been changed again. He had very poor public ratings, likely could not stay in practice, so he hired on to the VA.
    Thinking back, I have never been asked about some service connected conditions at the Grand Junction VA, although they are well documented in my records from other VAs. The last time I was asked about some service connected conditions was around 2009 at the Madison VA. That was around the last time I had any EKG regardless of what was said to a VA quack.
    Dying from Sepsis? Yeah I could easily see it happening at a VA because the lazy bastards might have to do their job.
    Dead vets don’t contribute to spending money on some kind of test that could save his life.

    Besides. The Grand Junction VA has a new Maternity Care Coordination service where female vets can have the VA coordinate all their care, inside and outside the VA, from pregnancy, birth and after.

    Do a search on “VA maternity care coordination”. See what the VA has to offer.

    It sure as hell isn’t lifesaving care for some poor bastard with Sepsis.

    Sorry Brothers. I don’t mean to abandon you to fending for yourselves at the VA.

  10. Haldol with a Benzodiazipine to begin with is questionable… It’s no wonder his airway collapsed once the infection rose. I’d say this guy was probably lucky to live as long as he did just on the medications they gave him. Haldol is for SERIOUS psychotic patients but only at the VA would they hand it out like aspirin.
    I wonder did the US Attorney defending the VAMC try to say his infection was caused through no action of the staff. It sounds to me like they overlooked the PDR language that anti-psychotic medications frequently cause Bone Marrow Suppression. Oh, the doctors don’t know that Bone Marrow Suppression and your bone marrow involves the production of leukocytes, a major part of your immune system needed to fight infection. I think this settlement should have been in the $millions, not hundreds of thousands because his medication profile should have been enough to warrant a STAT lab blood study. And BTW: what exactly was the infectious agent? Staph, no doubt which is most commonly associated with iatroigenic infections ( White Coat-Doctor Douchebag Infections), knfections you get from healthcare providers like MRSA.
    I live in Arkansas and no way am i going near the VA here. Arkansas is beautiful country with dark age medicine, and ” just saying” my opinion: its full of Pagans. Nurse out…

  11. They destroyed my life with opiods i showed them all the rules regulations they broke they denied tort claim no lawyers in this area times up my life waisted

  12. “Newsweek 10/12/2017.”

    “How the VA Fueled the National Opioid crisis and is killing thousands of Veterans.”

    Looks like they are constructing new ways to off veterans as well!

    I bet, Some University “Professionals” get shuffled around and someone gets a promotion out of the deal!

    More Zig -Zag, deflect, and deny from the VA! Ahhhhhh, Meeeerrr, Meeerrr, Meeerr, Meeeerrr, Meeeerrrr, Meeeer, Meeerrr!

    Ahh, man. This place is like a P.O.W. Camp I swear! Experiments! Hazing, Mobbing, Denials, delays, deaths! All freaking day long! They need to shut these places down!

    Another good book: “Dishonoring the honorable.”

    Sounds about right. Ordering his dirty meds at a slower rate! Geese louise!

    1. The VA prescribing anti depressants for so many on non psychological conditions is the new tragedy

  13. Precision Medicine? NOPE! AOC says so.

    Remove VA from Tort Law.

    Get that unaccountable AFGE union membership out of VA.

    Put regular Vets on oversight panels of sort.

    Force Prez Trunp to honor the promises in his 1st SOTU Address.

    Review ALL Acts, Executive Orders (EO’s), and Laws for effective purposeness. Make proper changes to tweak them up.

    Include Veterans, Caretakers, and family in having a say so about a Vets care.

    Set Cannabis Free for Vets to use w/o penalty.

    This and many other actions of change would be a start.

    Until then, I’ll refer to VA as Veteran Assassinators.

  14. Just Amazon the “Experts” like, “Jamie B. Parent.”….. “Moving Past PTSD!” Meanwhile, we die up in this fucking Space Camp every mother fucking day! Garbage ass fucks have nonfucking clue what we have done, and had to endure! Rotten basterds! Rot in hell!

  15. found out side effects of some meds are paranoia and delusions.Amnatriptiline has over 100 side effects and death . That explains alot. Ive written many articles and the only one to ever get national attention is Government continues to turn its back on veterans .If you want to check it out. Was up on USA today for a while than disappeared. Defense attorneys need start requesting peoples medications. 90 percent of America is impaired

  16. Its amazing how many more veterans are killed by the v.a. than by the enemy!

      1. one dr in Arkansan has 12 deaths 3000 mis diagnoses
        not one person been held accountable for veterans deaths as bonuses are paid on time.
        VA failed 90 percent time to report mal practice to medical boards
        1 dr had 88 botched surgeries not even fired

  17. No, but I was treated with a drug, Tegretol, that the PDR said the drug should be used with caution because it might make the symptoms of complex partial seizures and atypical absence seizures worse or patients with a sensitivity to amitriptyline worse and it did. But the treating neurologist wouldn’t prescribe an alternative medication like Dilantin. And after more than 7 months of complaining, I weaned off and quit the medication. Took 15 years of a sedentary life to get almost back to the point I was before the error.

    No compensation for those 15 years of unemployment because of unemployability.

  18. Veterans worry more bug your Senators or Representative contract the Veteran Affairs Committee passed a new Benefit Law especially Disabled Veterans that have a Mental Illness and Disabled Veterans is 100 service connected definitely need to have Cosmetic Dentistry Dentist G4 implants for free because they don’t have not one Veteran Medical Centers know how to put in Cosmetic Dentistry Dentist G4 implants and don’t have a contract with the Veteran Affairs Administration but unfortunately they have Cosmetic Dentistry Dentist G4 implants Clinics but the majority of the Disabled Veterans is 100 percent service connected don’t get the Cosmetic Dentistry Dentist G4 implants it’s definitely caused Health Care also it will cause bad gum disease and possible cause Cancer and Spread my belief and you don’t have to be Veteran to share my firm belief.

  19. No wonder the VA can’t pay their bills! I wonder how many other claims are settled without anyone knowing – or being reported. Because this definitely isn’t being reported by the MSM!

    1. Crazy Elf accept my firm belief hopefully you Veteran jam your Senators or Representative contract the Veteran Affairs Committee passed a new your belief how to improve Veterans Health Care no excuse…Semper Fi

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