Medical Doctor and Attorney Urges Veterans to Find a Legal Voice

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Aug. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Veterans who have had heart attacks, cancer or other serious conditions due to negligence or delays in receiving healthcare at Veterans Administration hospitals now have a legal advocate.

Dr. Francois Blaudeau, MD, JD, practicing medical doctor as well as attorney with the Southern Institute for Medical & Legal Affairs, asks Veterans and their families to contact the Institute if they have experienced delayed care or treatment from the Veterans Administration and suffered one of the following: heart attack, stroke, death due to a severe illness, death due to lack of diagnosis or misdiagnosis such as cancer or late diagnosis of a serious condition that could have been prevented if diagnosed sooner.

His website for veterans is www.badVAcare.com. The Southern Institute for Medical & Legal Affairs may be contacted for a free confidential consultation at 1-800-800-1919.

While the primary purpose is representing Veterans who have had detrimental delays in healthcare, Blaudeau said they also will consider serious negligence cases. The Institute has already received more than 30 calls from Veterans or their immediate family members with potential cases and is reviewing those cases to see if they are strong enough to file lawsuits.

Federal Law states all Veterans are entitled to medical benefits. In April, the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs announced that as many as 40 Veterans died apparently due to delays in healthcare at a VA hospital in Phoenix, Ariz. In addition, a recent VA's inspector general report found the following.

• Officials falsified records, hiding the amount of wait time Veterans experienced for medical appointments, delaying their appointments an average of 115 days for an initial primary care appointment with many Veterans suffering catastrophic consequences as a result of the VA hospital's negligence.
• Also, the VA failed to release internal documents that corroborated at least 19 preventable deaths. These Veterans are part of 82 Veterans who died or are dying or suffered serious injuries as a result of delayed diagnosis or treatment for colonoscopies or endoscopies.
• Additionally, it has been reported that possibly over 1,000 Veterans may have died due to VA mismanagement between the years 2001 and 2011.

Suing the government is not as lucrative as suing a business because there are caps on how much can be recovered for both plaintiffs and attorneys. The badvacare.com website explains the process and the limits and Dr. Blaudeau hopes the Institute can provide Veterans with a legal voice.

The Southern Institute for Medical & Legal Affairs is headquartered in Birmingham and works with Heninger Garrison Davis and their offices in Birmingham, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. focusing on Class Actions and Mass Torts, Intellectual Property and Personal Injury.  Please visit www.badvacare.com to learn more or see the YouTube video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUB_1DVmHco&feature=youtu.be.

Contact:
Stacy Smith
[email protected]
Heninger Garrison Davis
2224 1st Avenue North
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
(205) 326-3336

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140731/132425

SOURCE Southern Institute for Medical & Legal Affairs