Noteboom The Law Firm

New Legislation Protects Veterans From Medical Negligence

May 13, 2010 - The Veteran's Health and Radiation Safety Act (S. 3330) was introduced in order to avert another medically negligent incident like what happened at the Philadelphia Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center where prostate cancer patients received inferior care. The Inspector General's (IG) report on the Philadelphia VA Brachytherapy program was issued this week and this Act seeks to employ the recommendations made in the report.

The IG report found incredible gaps in oversight at the Philadelphia VA. The computer used in the medical center was not even hooked into the medical center's main network. The result was 17 veterans never receiving any evaluation of their procedures. Additionally, the management practices in the clinic were found to be seriously lacking. 

Veterans seeking cancer treatments at the Philadelphia VA medical center were given wrong and incorrect dosages of their treatments. Defective procedures, ineffective patient care, and negligence contributed to the veterans' harm. This Act seeks to guarantee this will never happen again. Should the Veteran's Health and Radiation Safety Act pass, it would mandate:

• An evaluation of all "low-volume" programs the VA operates to ensure safety standards are met;
• Every VA hospital must train both employees and independent contractors working in the hospital in what comprises a "'medical event'"; and
• Independent contractors' performances must be evaluated prior to contract renewals.

 Similar legislation was introduced to the House of Representatives as well. Because of the severity of the situation and the amount of harm veterans' suffered, lawmakers are determined to never let this situation present itself again.