A hospital owned by the Veterans Administration is facing an $11 million lawsuit that accuses its staff of covering up a patient's death, radio station KTWO reported Oct. 19
John Behles died at Sheridan (Wyo.) VA Medical Center in June 2020, according to the radio station. His autopsy report listed bronchopneumonia as the cause of death. However, the day before he died, he suffered a traumatic head injury.
Hospital staff documented that Mr. Behles fell from his bed, but his estate representative alleges this is not possible. The bed was low to the ground and surrounded by pads and railings, the radio station reported.
A nurse from the hospital called the Sheridan County Sheriff's Department after Mr. Behles' death, saying his injuries were inconsistent with a fall, and the staff's cleanup of blood was "suspicious." The medical center's police then investigated the death, the radio station reported.
The police complaint said they "found evidence of a cover-up of the true cause of Behles' catastrophic and traumatic head injuries." The evidence included a delay in calling 911; inconsistent chart notes and timelines; the appearance that the nursing director called staff together to ensure consistent reports; and the fact that Mr. Behles was found by the bathroom, not his bed, and was incapable of leaving bed without assistance, the radio station reported.
This led Mr. Behles' estate representative to file a complaint with the VA, which alleged "that Behles' traumatic injury was the result of either an assault of being mishandled or dropped by a VAMC staff member, resulting in a coordinated, concerted and organized cover-up of the facts surrounding the incident by various members of VAMC staff."
The VA denied the representative's claims May 6, saying an independent evaluation of records found "no breaches of the applicable standard of care resulting in injury, and that the autopsy report supported this. The VA said the representative could sue under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which compensates individuals harmed by negligent or wrongful acts of federal government employees. This is the basis for the current suit, which was filed in federal court Oct. 18, according to the radio station.
A representative from Sheridan VA Medical Center told Becker's they are aware of the lawsuit but are unable to comment.