Last week, Sgt. 1st Class Richard Stayskal, who was a Green Beret injured in Iraq, filed a $5 million lawsuit against the military for medical malpractice, one minute after Congress passed the SFC Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act. This was a momentous occasion that could impact any veteran that suffers from longstanding war injuries that were treated by the military. But what exactly is the bill, and how could it affect you as a veteran or a family member with a purple heart.
Stayskal’s Story
Stayskal is a 38-year-old veteran that spent almost 17 years in the military as a Marine and Special Forces soldier in the army. He was ordered to have a CT scan in January 2017 to check up on injuries that he had suffered in Iraq. He passed the test, but noted that he had some trouble breathing. He went on prepping for dive school and spent the next 6 months going through a lot of bureaucracy. During that time, he was misdiagnosed with pneumonia and then got sent home from the emergency room, before being passed from doctor to doctor as he got worse and worse. After several more weeks he was told that what they thought was pneumonia was actually stage three lung cancer which had spread to his neck, spleen, liver and hip.
As a result of this major misdiagnosis, Stayskal fought against a 1950’s supreme court ruling called the Feres Doctrine, which stops any troops from being able to seek damages against the government for medical malpractice during their service.
What it means
There were government officials that argued against changing the Feres Doctrine as they thought it prevented frivolous lawsuits. Stayskal says that they’re missing the point. Though he supports the military, he thinks that they need to be held accountable for their effects on people’s lives. The House and Senate both agree, with a bipartisan rejection of the Feres Doctrine. The effects of this bill are long-reaching. Lawmakers took a long time to debate the statute of limitations, but they settled on a 3-year statute beginning on the date the claimant discovered or should have discovered the injury and cause of the injury.
If you are a veteran that feels you have been a victim of military medical malpractice, you may bring a claim against the United States for damages relating to personal injury that came from a negligent act during any medical dental or other health-care functions. That’s not all, if the affected was a family member, the family may be able to bring a claim on the behalf of the veteran if they suffered from injury or death. Click here if you’re in that position and want to speak to a medical malpractice attorney on a 24/7 hotline for advice.
Other Impacts
The law has also allocated $400 million to the Department of Defense for it to conduct its own investigations and give its own payouts for each claim, but only for cases that aren’t related to combat. Natalie Khawam, Stayskal’s attorney, stated that they are only just beginning and that they’re excited for great things to come from this law in 2020.
