My husband is Army Active Duty and developed skin cancer while deployed to Iraq. Once back in the states he was treated and during the surgery to remove the cancer and to biopsy the surrounding areas, the surgeon caused substantial nerve damage. Now my husband is left with no feeling in the side of his face, neck, or ear. Not to mention a horrible looking scare because the surgeon opted against a skin graft although it was needed. He also has sever pain from the nerve triggering improperly. This pain has become so bad that he is no longer capable of doing his job, and after much headache and run around, he was put on a permanent profile and recommend to med. broad.
The steps leading up to his permanent profile have been awful. We have gotten the run around from everyone and there are already a long list of files missing from my husband's medical files, including the surgical note and referral to pain management. I cannot help but to feel like we are being screwed over, but we don't know where to turn for advice.
Is it possible to have legal representation during the medical broad process? Who would you recommend contacting? What other tips do you have for someone facing a medical discharge? From what my husband has been told, he can realistically expect between 30%-50% disability from the Army themselves. I personally feel since it was the malpractice of an Army surgeon that caused his injury and early discharge that we should fight for as much as possible. Of course, he will also file with the VA once he's discharged.
DaLady
Since he is still in the service you can use the base JAG office for your legal needs.
Randall
First I'd call I.G. and see if they can help. Then yes, contact the legal office, they can be present during his board (or at least help him prepare for it).
Also, make 100% sure everything he has been treated for is WELL DOCUMENTED in his medical records and have copies and copies of it. If not, VA will not do anything for him.
Good Luck
So to be
If you want to throw a rock in the picture window so to say
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Get with the local news media the will eat this one up
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And watch what happens then
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And don't worry about any adverse reaction from the military
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Your allegations are
Derelict of duty
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One that can entail a court martial
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And JAG will be brought in on this one
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hotter_than_yer_mom
I am so sorry to hear about your situation... I recommend seeking out JAG counsel like the previous person said, and from now on, make sure EVERYTHING is documented. See if maybe you can go back to the surgeon and get some notes done, maybe a sympathetic nurse that was there during the surgery or has knowledge of your husbands surgery. There are always people willing to help... it shouldn't be you running around with this headache trying to find everything, but it looks like that's the way its going to be.
Make sure your husband goes to the doctor to have the pain documented, and anything else associated with the surgery. Make sure he tells the doctor he is seeing about what the surgeon recommended and that the doctor documents it on the visit notes. The VA and Army will look at all of this stuff when you go to file for disability.
Also, fight med board if you don't get a satisfactory recommendation from them after the first, second or third time it goes up. You are even allowed to appear at your med board (at your own expense of course from what I remember.) to state your case. Don't sign anything until you are satisfied because it is SO much harder to go back and ask for more.
I wish I had more info, and I hope this is helpful. Best of luck to you and your husband.
~~ Army Wife ~~
Honestly, I don't see JAG touching it. When my husband went through the med board (twice now mind you) the paperwork that he got clearly stated he was NOT entitled to legal counsel. What you will want to do is read over his MMRB/ MEB paperwork very carefully and see what it says. If it says no legal counsel authorized then JAG is not going to touch it with a 10 foot pole and no civilian attorney is going to be allowed into the board with him. They are very very picky about who they allow to accompany the Soldier into the hearing. The most they are going to allow is his commander or someone else in his chain of command. Also having a lawyer or JAG there is NOT going to change the outcome of the board and will NOT do anything to the doctor that preformed the actual procedure.
Has he gone to the MMRB yet? Or are they telling him that he will go directly to the MEB because of the type of injury it is? Once he goes to the board he will have so many days to appeal the decision if he disagrees with it. They will explain all of this when he goes to the briefing both before the board and then again right before the board convenes and then again on paper after he meets with them and they give him their decision so he will be fully aware of what he needs to do if he wants to file an appeal. His med board should be held at the location where he is already at. There should be no reason why he is not there and infact he is required to be there unless the paperwork states otherwise (there are a few cases where they allow the member not to be there but those are few and far between)
What you can do.... is seek out an civilian attorney and file a law suite against the doctor that preformed the surgery in your states court for malpractice . The laws say that the Service member can't sue the government while they are still on active duty BUT it doesn't prohibit the spouse from suing them and I've read of more than one case where a spouse has sued and won for damages. Also you can contact the medical board and file a complaint..... usually now adays the docs that do that type of thing also have civilian practices on the side so he still has to answer to the medical board for your state. He can't be doing malpractice the way he obviously is and get away with it his license still intact. They will investigate the situation and reprimand him accordingly and oh course you can sue him in the civilian courts because you (the spouse) are a civilian and are not held by the government medical laws of you have no rights.
ETA: Here is some sites you can go to for info. They cover things like info on how to go about filing a suit, who can and can't file a claim, when it must be done by, how to file an claim, how long it take for the claim to be paid and how it effects benifits through the VA.
http://www.militarymedmal.net/faqs.asp#8
http://military-medical-malpractice.com/
BTW it states on more than one site that generally any person who has been injured as a result of medical negligence occurring in a United States government health care facility with the exception of active duty personnel can sue the government for medical malpractice. This includes military dependents, military retirees, and veterans.
rec
These types of things are always a slow process. Until he gets out, he cannot sue the Army. Even after he gets out, the laws are quite limited. He could discuss this with an attorney, but there are strict guidelines as to who and when can someone file suit against an Army Dr. (the laws do differ if it is a civilian MD contracting with the hospital).
Having an attorney will only help him prepare, it will not change the Army's decision on releasing him.
Every time he leaves an appointment, make sure he gets the reports to go along with it. The staff is not usually eager to give them, but it's his right.
Make sure he also gets copies of the forms he signed prior to the surgery, often they make claims to say he will release liability if something happens -
VA could be 50% or greater, it takes awhile but it is worth it.
Just to note - "The Army" and "Malpractice" are like oil and water -
Also - You cannot do anything. He has to be the one to pursue this.
Orignal From: Tips: Help during army medical discharge?
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