Phoenix VA Hospital Under Fire After New OIG Report

Audet & Partners, LLP reports that a new report issued by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has shed new light on the degree of substandard care rendered to U.S. veterans within the Phoenix VA hospital system.

The extensive OIG Report (click here to access the complete Report) scrutinized medical records and additional information related to the care of 3,409 veterans awaiting treatment from the Phoenix VA system between April 2013 and April 2014.  Based on its inquiry, the OIG concluded that 40 patients died while awaiting appointments within the Phoenix VA system.

Though no deaths were causally linked to improper waiting times, the Report has rekindled the ire of President Obama and other VA leaders who are calling for an overhaul of veteran treatment at U.S. VA hospitals across the United States.

William Audet, the Founder of Audet & Partners, and an attorney representing Sally Barnes-Breen who lost her father who had been awaiting treatment at the Phoenix VA, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times:

“I think for Sally … it’s  a continuing disappointment.  It’s another letdown by the government.”

Calling the problems identified within the Report “outrageous and inexcusable,” President Obama has pledged to “get to the bottom of these problems” stating that “As a country, we can’t stand idly by.”

If you or a loved one had suffered as a result of substandard medical care provided by a VA hospital, you are urged to contact an attorney at Audet & Partners, LLP for a free, confidential case evaluation.  You can call us at (800) 965-1461, or complete and submit our confidential online inquiry form on the right side of this page.