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Active-Duty Service Members ‘Virtually Powerless’ to Hold Military Hospitals Accountable for Medical Errors

Our malpractice attorneys in Seattle report on medical errors happening in military hospitals.

Medical errors happen in hospitals every day. But members of the armed services, who have almost no choice but to seek treatment at military medical facilities, have very few options when it comes to holding those hospitals accountable for negligent mistakes in their care.

A recent report from The New York Times chronicles some of these medical errors and the quests of family members to get answers about how their loved ones died. The newspaper reported that the “nation’s 1.3 million active-duty service members are in a special bind, virtually powerless to hold accountable the health care system that treats them. They are captives of the military medical system, unable, without specific approval, to get care elsewhere if they fear theirs is substandard or dangerous.”

According to the article, the Pentagon started to allow active-duty service members to file complaints about their treatment just 18 months ago. However, a federal confidentiality law dating back to 1986 bars military members from seeing results of any investigations into their care. Active-duty military members are barred from filing malpractice claims, with the Defense Department arguing the need to maintain discipline.  Family members who are not active-duty may seek recovery, creating a two-tier system that discriminates against those who are serving our nation.

The newspaper article tells the story of T.J. Moore, a 19-year-old recruit who died after collapsing while running during basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Moore had been pulled from training when he had trouble running. He collapsed when he attempted the test again and later died.

A test given at the base clinic showed Moore had sickle trait, which in rare cases can lead to sudden death after intense exercise. After initially barring Moore from basic training, the military personnel changed their minds and allowed him to continue before he was informed of the test result, according to the article.

The New York Times had three independent experts review Moore’s medical records and they “agreed that medical workers had failed him,” according to the article.

“There was a breakdown here, no question about it,” said Dr. Stephen Rice, a specialist recommended to the newspaper by the American College of Sports Medicine. “You have to gain some lessons here. You can’t just say this is a tragedy.”

Moore’s mother, Anita Holmes, told The New York Times the military “had him for nine days and sent him home to me in a box. … No one has really given me good answers about why.”

Although a squadron leader told Holmes he felt he didn’t do enough to protect Moore, Holmes also told The New York Times that she received little information about her son’s death, and has not heard from anyone directly involved with her son’s case. That is despite Defense Department officials saying it is important that patients or relatives hear directly, and promptly, from those who cared for them in cases of serious harm or death.

“There is just no transparency. You can’t sue. You have no insight into the process,” Cheryl Garner, a retired military intelligence officer, told The New York Times. “As active duty, we just don’t have much recourse.”

Garner told the newspaper she was threatened with a note in her file when she complained of breast pain and other symptoms to a physician assistant during three visits to the hospital at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Garner was later diagnosed and treated for invasive breast cancer after switching her medical care to a Navy hospital.

Three years ago, Congress changed the 1986 federal confidentiality law, requiring more medical facts be shared. Dr. Jonathan Woodson, the Pentagon’s top health official, told The New York Times that military policies aren’t much different from civilian hospitals and the military requires its medical professionals be accountable to patients.

But Richard C. Boothman, the Michigan health system’s clinical safety chief, said in the newspaper, “If you can’t be honest about the conclusion, about whether what you did was right or wrong, whether it was reasonable or not reasonable, I don’t see how you can say you have a culture of full disclosure.”

The attorneys of Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC, are committed to patient safety and represent families who have been injured by care at military hospitals, which requires specific knowledge about the military system and claim requirements. Schedule a free consultation by calling us or contacting us online.