Finding Complaints, Malpractice Claims, Disciplinary Action against VA Health Care Practitioners

UPDATE:  In response to some of the questions in the comments section of this article, I want to briefly clarify any confusion about how the VA is sued as this information will be in the noted future story coming soon.

First, when you sue the VA for Malpractice or other Negligence in an Administrative Tort Claim which is the first requirement, or if you later proceed with a Federal Tort Claim in Federal District Court, you are actually suing the United States of America under the Federal Tort Claims Act. However, you are permitted to specify employees names as long as you state that you’re suing them “in their official capacity” as employees of the Veterans Administration Healthcare System.

Second, although VA Health Care Practitioners for the most part do have immunity from being sued “Individually” for Malpractice or other Negligence as long as they were “acting in the scope of their employment,” the VA does not have that immunity and can be sued for Malpractice or other Negligence of their Health Care Practitioners pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act. Click onto the link for more information about suing the VA.  http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/05/01/service-connected-disability-other-comepensation-for-va-retaliation-by-intimidation/

Third, VA Health Care Workers are not immune from being reported to the National Practitioners Data Bank (NPDB).

Fourth, YOU SHOULD DULY NOTE THAT the information contained in  reports at the NPDB about VA Health Care Practitioners, including but not limited to Complaints, Disciplinary Action, Malpractice, or other Negligence of those Health Care Practitioners may be used as Evidence in a Federal Tort Claim Trial against the VA.

Here’s an example from a recent lawsuit brought against the VA by the ACLU in Los Angeles on behalf of Robert “Bob” Rosebrock, alleging the VA violated his First Amendment Rights to Free Speech, among other things, and showing how the VA employees are being  “sued in their official capacity.”

______________________________

ROBERT ROSEBROCK,

Plaintiff,

vs.

DONNA BEITER, DIRECTOR OF

THE VETERANS

ADMINISTRATION GREATER

LOS ANGELES HEALTHCARE

SYSTEM, in her official capacity;

RONALD MATHIS, CHIEF OF

POLICE OF THE VETERANS

ADMINISTRATION GREATER

LOS ANGELES HEALTHCARE

SYSTEM, in his official capacity.

Defendants.

______________________________

WRITER’S NOTE:  Coming soon is all the Federal Court paperwork filed by this Writer, the settlement received in that lawsuit,  and the strategies I used to prevail in a Federal Tort Claim against VA Health Care Practitioners who verbally and emotionally abused me while a Resident-Patient at a VA Domiciliary, and ones you can use yourself to prevail as a “Pro Se” Litigant in Federal Court.  Be sure to watch for it!  In the interim, and after reading “Finding Complaints,  Malpractice  Claims, Disciplinary Action against VA Health Care Practitioners” you can read about the abuses that occurred at this VA Domiciliary by clicking onto to the link and reading “Veterans Stripped of Dignity Thrown Out On Street” http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/09/05/veterans-stripped-of-dignity-thrown-out-on-street/

If you’re the Victim of Malpractice or other Negligence or wrongful action or omission by a VA Physician, Nurse, Dentist or any other VA Health Care Practitioner you can find out if any of  them have had compalints against them by other Veteran-Patients, or have been disciplined, or have had malpractice lawsuits or any other action or claim filed against them while either in private practice or an employee of the VA, and how much they were required to pay by Court Order or an amount they paid in an out-of-Court settlement.  

Requesting information from the National Practitioner Data Bank.  (a) Who may request information and what information may be available.     § 60.11 – 45 CFR Subtitle A (10–1–06 Edition) (5) An attorney, or individual representing himself or herself, who has filed a medical malpractice action or claim in a State or Federal court or other adjudicative body against a hospital,and who requests information regarding a specific physician, dentist, or other health care practitioner who is also named in the action or claim. Provided,that this information will be disclosed only upon the submission of evidence that the hospital failed to request information from the Data Bank as required by § 60.10(a), and may be used solely with respect to ligitation resulting from the action or claim against the hospital.  After clicking on the link go to Section(§) 60.11  to read the full details.  http://www.npdb-pdb.hrsa.gov/legislation/Final_Regulations_Title_IV.pdf

National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) http://www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov/

National Practitioner Data Bank Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank - The legislation that led to the creation of the NPDB was enacted because the U.S. Congress believed that the increasing occurrence of medical malpractice litigation and the need to improve the quality of medical care had become nationwide problems that warranted greater efforts than any individual State could undertake. The intent is to improve the quality of health care by encouraging State licensing boards, hospitals and other health care entities, and professional societies to identify and discipline those who engage in unprofessional behavior; and to restrict the ability of incompetent physicians, dentists, and other health care practitioners to move from State to State without disclosure or discovery of previous medical malpractice payment and adverse action history. Adverse actions can involve licensure, clinical privileges, professional society membership, and exclusions from Medicare and Medicaid.

The NPDB is primarily an alert or flagging system intended to facilitate a comprehensive review of health care practitioners’ professional credentials. The information contained in the NPDB is intended to direct discrete inquiry into, and scrutiny of, specific areas of a practitioner’s licensure, professional society memberships, medical malpractice payment history, and record of clinical privileges. The information contained in the NPDB should be considered together with other relevant data in evaluating a practitioner’s credentials; it is intended to augment, not replace, traditional forms of credentials review.

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