Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act of 2019 claim filed on New Year's Day

Fort Bragg soldier first to file medical malpractice claim against the government

ABC 11 News
By Diane Wilson
January 2, 2020

A new year means the new law named after a Fort Bragg soldier Richard Stayskal is in effect. This new law, The Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act of 2019, paves the way for the military to hold the government accountable for negligence and malpractice by military doctors.

Stayskal along with his attorney Natalie Khawam didn't waste any time and filed a malpractice claim against the government on New Year's Day.

"I filed SFC Richard Stayskal's claim on January 1st, to ring in the New Year," Khawam said. "We're honored that our bill passed in less than a year, especially after 70 years of unsuccessful attempts by many others. We don't want to waste any time pursuing recourse for the Stayskal family. We look forward to helping our Military families seek justice in 2020."

ABC11 first told you about Sgt. 1st Class Richard Stayskal's fight in December 2018. The Purple Heart recipient is stationed at Fort Bragg and lives in Pinehurst with his wife and two daughters. He has stage four lung cancer.

It's a cancer diagnosis that he said should have been caught earlier but was missed by military doctors at Womack Army Medical Center during a routine physical in January 2017.
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Here is the link to the The Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act of 2019

Sailor wins lawsuit after baby boy left brain damaged

US government settles allegations Navy doctor mishandled child birth for $11.5 million

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Scott Daugherty
SEP 14, 2019

A sailor gave birth five years ago to a baby boy at a Navy hospital. Things went wrong and the child suffered severe and permanent brain damage.

The Walter E. Hoffman United States Courthouse. (Thé Pham)

If the delivery happened in Virginia, any possible malpractice award would be capped at $2.15 million.

But Petty Officer 1st Class Deardre Bebeau gave birth in Guam, where local law doesn’t cap malpractice claims. The difference meant millions of dollars for her family.

The federal government agreed Friday to pay $11.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Bebeau and her husband, Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Bebeau Sr., both of Virginia Beach.
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Medical malpractice left her paralyzed, and without justice because she was a soldier!

Unable to sue the Army for medical malpractice, this retired soldier is now fighting the VA for benefits

Military Times
By: Meghann Myers
August 26, 2019

For now, the hope is that a bill in Congress will allow Ospina, a mother of a young son, and veterans like her to seek compensation for alleged medical mistakes that they claim have altered their lives forever.

Retired Sgt. 1st Class Barbara Ospina Fitzsimmons said she was partially paralyzed after a spinal surgery in 2014. (Courtesy Barbara Ospina Fitzsimmons)

Retired Sgt. 1st Class Barbara Ospina is partially paralyzed, in debilitating pain and confined to a wheelchair for almost all of her day. Her condition is the result of malpractice at the hands of hands of military medicine, according to claims she made to the Department of Veterans Affairs, but she is paying out of pocket for a caregiver to help her bathe, dress and prepare meals, because the VA has denied her request for caregiver assistance.

What began as a treatable birth defect turned into a dislocated neck and a stroke that went undetected for days, according to records provided to Military Times. Had that initial surgery taken place at a civilian hospital, Ospina, 29, would be able to seek damages. But the Feres Doctrine, a 1950 Supreme Court decision, prevents her from suing the Defense Department for service-connected illness or injury.

“Her story represents the egregious conduct, consistent lack of care and malpractice at the hands of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” her attorney, Natalie Khawam of the Tampa, Florida- and D.C.-based Whistleblower Law Firm, told Military Times on Tuesday.
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#EndFeresNow