Charlotte Woman: Case against VA 5 years old
Charlottean's claim on behalf of her late brother, twice denied by federal government, is now a lawsuit
KAREN GARLOCH
kgarloch@charlotteobserver.com
A Charlotte woman's five-year effort on behalf of her Vietnam veteran brother illustrates how time-consuming and complicated it is to file a claim against the VA hospital system.
Maelene Woods began the process after her brother, Edward Louis Hines Jr., 55, of Greensboro died at the Durham VA Medical Center in August 2002.
After filing claims and administrative appeals and being denied by the federal government twice, she and Hines' family finally took their case to court Friday.
"If you're going to do this, you really just have to hang in there," Woods said. "I had to research it to find out what needed to be done. It took a long time, waiting for records, making phone calls. I didn't want to miss anything because I knew if I did, it may be too late to bring it up if we had to go to court."
Woods' older brother went to Vietnam at 19 and came back a changed person. Two of his best friends were killed there. "When he came back, his eyes, they were empty," she said. "I knew he would never be the same."
He suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and nerve damage to his hands and feet made it difficult for him to walk steadily. Complaints about his VA medical care came in the last four months of his life, when the family alleges he was neglected while a patient at the Durham and Salisbury VA hospitals.
VA officials declined to comment on the Hines case, citing privacy laws.
After Hines died, Woods worked with his ex-wife, Nancy Hines, personal representative for his estate, to compile medical records she needed to file a formal complaint.
Before veterans or their survivors can sue the U.S. government, they must file an administrative claim asking for payment. This must be done within two years of an injury.
If the government doesn't respond or make a payment within six months, the family is free to sue. If the government denies the claim, a suit must be filed within six months or the right to sue is forfeited.
Woods' claims, filed in 2003 and 2004, were denied by the government in 2005. Instead of suing immediately, she chose to file an administrative appeal. The government again denied her claims on Oct. 19.
On Friday, six days before the deadline, the family's lawyer, Chris Mauriello of Cornelius, filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful death and negligence in U.S. District Court in Greensboro.
Mauriello said the delay in bringing a lawsuit can make it hard to get witnesses and records for trial. But the process at least allows citizens to sue the federal government, which wasn't allowed before 1946.
The Hines suit claims the hospitals failed to treat him for a dangerously low temperature and high potassium level and failed to protect him from falling and breaking both hips. Those conditions contributed to his death, the suit says.
According to the suit, Hines' family took him to the Salisbury VA on May 3, 2002, because he was feeling "constantly cold" and unable to urinate for days. He had a "critically low" temperature of 92.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Normal is 98.6.
He waited four hours before being admitted to the psychiatric unit, where he stayed 18 hours without treatment as his temperature continued to drop, the suit says.
Thirty hours after his arrival, he was transferred to intensive care. The next day, records show he had lost 12.9 pounds since he was admitted, the suit says.
Although Hines was known to be at risk for falls because of the nerve damage, he was left unattended and fell four times in the next month and a half at Salisbury. On June 11, he was found alone on the floor, having broken both hips.
He was sent to the Durham VA for surgery. Over the next two months, he was transferred five times between the two hospitals even though his condition was "highly unstable" and the family objected, the suit says.
On Aug. 18, Hines suffered a heart attack. A doctor ordered medicine to reduce the potassium level, but it was never given, the suit says.
Hines died Aug. 25 of pneumonia and kidney failure. An N.C. medical expert, who reviewed Hines' records for Mauriello, said the high potassium level contributed to his heart attack.
Woods said she, Nancy Hines and the Hines' three children took turns being with him while he was hospitalized and tried to bring attention to the problems they observed.
"I didn't only do this for my brother," Woods said. "I'm hoping it will shed light on the treatment, or shall I say the lack of treatment, that the vets were being given."
