A recent case involves a former congressman who has filed a lawsuit against the federal government. The medical malpractice case has been filed in a state outside of Hawaii. The claim asserts that the government should be held liable for the actions of Capitol Hill doctors, the actions of whom, the former congressman says, adversely affected his health.
The former congressman reportedly suffers from cancer of the pancreas. He claims that if doctors on Capitol Hill had given him important information in a timely manner regarding his condition, he might have received an earlier cancer diagnosis. Former Representative LaTourette said that after being admitted to the hospital twice for gastrointestinal pain and pancreatitis, he was given an MRI that he later learned had shown a lesion on his pancreas.
LaTourette claims that he was never told about the lesion. He also says that he was never told about the radiologist’s recommendation to see a congressional physician for a follow-up appointment. Since the MRI results were apparently not revealed to him in 2012, he did not receive a cancer diagnosis until last year. He is now planning to sue the federal government for negligent care on the part of the Office of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Congress.
Hawaii medical patients who believe that negligent medical care has adversely affected their health or caused injuries can file medical malpractice claims against those deemed at-fault. Doing so could lead to compensation that can be awarded for damages in successfully litigated cases. Because injury and/or illness often results in a need for further medical treatment, a compensatory award could be used to help alleviate some of those costs.
Source: politico.com, “Ex-congressman plans malpractice suit against feds”, Erin Mershon 5/27/15, May 27, 2015