Studies show that medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States, and medical errors take many forms.
Unfortunately, failure to identify patient allergies and failure to act on test results are two of the most common.
The family of an 84-year-old Korean War veteran said he died after a VA hospital treated him with an antibiotic he was allergic to.
According to the family’s lawsuit, the VA’s own medical records showed that the Navy veteran was allergic to cephalosporin medications. However, hospital staff administered one of these drugs to him after he was diagnosed with pneumonia. After being administered the antibiotic, the man was discharged the same day.
He returned to the hospital, though, after developing a “drug rash.” He even developed lesions on his face — a condition known to be indicative of allergic reactions to cephalosporin medications. However, the hospital continued to treat for pneumonia without diagnosing the allergic reaction. The man was eventually discharged to hospice care, and he died a few days later.
Now the veteran’s sons are seeking to hold the VA responsible for their father’s death.
The quality of care is not uniform across VA hospitals.
Some VA medical facilities have much better safety records than others. If you or a loved one has been harmed due to VA hospital negligence in Texas, you need to know your legal options for obtaining the compensation you need and deserve.
The process of suing a VA hospital for medical malpractice is different than the process for a civil medical malpractice claim.
For more on that, please see our previous post, “Steps for a Military Medical Malpractice Claim.”
