Question:
I was diagnosed with Hurthle Cell carcinoma and the Memphis VA decided to have a general surgeon remove the tumor. The surgeon noted that they had trouble finding the recurrent laryngeal nerve and in fact severed it during surgery. They were unable to complete the surgery due to the difficulty of removal. I woke up unable to speak, coughing due to nerve paralysis. The doctors at the VA wrote they had stimulation of the nerve before closing. I asked to be sent to a thyroid surgeon specialist outside of the VA. This doctor was excellent and found the severed nerve in the side that the VA removed. He also removed material they left behind along with completion thyroid on my right side and protected the nerve on that side. Now I will have to get more injections in my left vocal cord to be able to speak, not get out of breath, etc. I am trying to get disability through the VA due to this incident as I am a self employed realtor and need my voice. Is there anymore I can do? This will be lifelong as they paralyzed my vocal cord. I know students did the surgery with the surgeon scrubbed in. I’ve sent both the surgical report from the VA and the non va doctor to disability.
Jim's Reply:
You need to talk with a lawyer. Not just any lawyer, you need to talk with a lawyer who knows how to sue the federal government for medical malpractice.
Yes...what you've described to me is a demonstration of incompetence, frank medical malpractice and coverup typical of how VA reacts when they've made a serious mistake. You're going to deal with this the rest of your life and VA should pay...this is going to get worse as you age.
I refer to one attorney group only for cases like yours. https://verdictvictory.com/medical-malpractice/va-malpractice/
I hope you'll make contact with these folks soon. There's a time limit to filing and you need to start ASAP. Good luck.