Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals must provide an appointment to every military veteran who seeks treatment within 14-30 days of their entering the VA system. However, extensive administrative backlogs at many VA hospitals and instances of VA staff denying claims combine to cause preventable and often life-threatening harm to former servicemembers.
If you have suffered avoidable harm or lost a close family member because of a delay in receiving medical care through the VA, you may have legal grounds for a civil claim. Our skilled malpractice attorneys will help you pursue that claim. A Miami VA hospital delays lawyer from Kaire & Heffernan will guide you through the entire legal process and work to protect the best interests of your entire family.
Patients face capacity constraints at various stages throughout the treatment process in VA hospitals and mental health care facilities—from initial intake appointments to long-term follow-up care. Furthermore, veterans could experience reckless or careless treatment practices from VA doctors. Examples of such malpractice include a misdiagnosed disease or condition, prescriptions for the wrong treatment or medication, and injuries from surgical errors or unsanitary hospital conditions.
Harms sustained in these scenarios could give rise to a civil claim. However, a treatment delay on its own is not enough to justify filing a malpractice lawsuit. A Miami attorney can help a claimant prove—generally with formal written support from at least one qualified medical expert—that the treatment delay at a VA hospital was more likely than not, the main cause of a specific injury or illness that required professional medical care and resulted directly in the premature death of a loved one.
Because the VA is an entity of the federal government, all civil claims for malpractice, including for unreasonable delays, at a VA hospital must comply with the Federal Tort Claims Act—more specifically, Title 38 U.S. Code §1151. Among other requirements, this statute mandates unique procedures for starting a lawsuit over treatment delays in a VA hospital. These procedures differ from those used in malpractice claims against private health care facilities.
A claimant must wait at least six months after filing a claim for the federal government to investigate the matter and issue an official response. A civil suit may be filed only if the claim is rejected or does not receive a response within six months. Our malpractice attorneys in Miami will guide claimants through the complex federal statutes and legal processes involved in a case of delayed treatment at a VA hospital.
The U.S. government gives military veterans access to quality health care after their honorable discharge. However, far too many veterans who have interacted with VA hospitals have experienced unreasonable delays and even negligent treatment from physicians who were supposed to help them. Medical misconduct like this may serve as valid grounds for civil litigation.
If you were harmed by a treatment delay at a VA hospital, a Miami VA hospital delays lawyer will help you build and file a strong claim. Call today to learn what Kaire & Heffernan will do for you.
(305) 876-6001