The Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) has allegedly settled a lawsuit for $975,000 with a Kentucky widow whose husband died due to medical malpractice at a VA hospital in Marion, Illinois in 2007. The lawsuit is only one of several pending against the facility and the government.

Wrongful death

According to news reports, Katrina Shank alleged that the VA facility where her husband Robert underwent gallbladder surgery in 2007 was negligent in hiring one of the doctors on staff, that her husband received grossly sub-standard care and that he bled to death after the surgery. The doctor in charge of her husband's surgery was Jose Veizaga-Mendez who received his formal medical training in Bolivia. Veizaga-Mendez resigned only days after Shank's death and his negligence has been linked to other botched surgeries and deaths.

Negligent hiring

Shank's widow alleges that the VA did not investigate Veizaga-Mendez's background before hiring him. She says that if it had done a proper investigation beforehand, it would have found that he had been in trouble with the Massachusetts' state regulatory authorities who accused him of not reporting several medical malpractice cases in which he was named. Veizaga-Mendez voluntarily agreed to surrender his Massachusetts' license to practice medicine immediately before being hired by the VA in 2006.

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Other lawsuits pending

In addition to Shank's death, at least nine others have been reported at the same facility and under the care of Veizaga-Mendez and at least one other of those deaths has resulted in litigation. Darla Marshall, another Kentucky widow whose husband James died of a blood infection after Veizaga-Mendez performed a lymph node biopsy has also brought a lawsuit against the VA. She is seeking $10 million in damages.

If your family has suffered a loss due to a doctor's negligence, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney to discuss your situation and to evaluate your options. You may be entitled to compensation for your family's loss. Consultations with a lawyer are free of charge, without obligation and are strictly confidential.