This is a wrongful death/medical negligence case regarding an active duty Army soldier.
I know about the Feres doctrine, and I am working on getting that amended to exclude non combat related medical malpractice. I filed a SF95 with the appropriate military branch and, of course, it was denied. I have until March 8, 2008 - 5 days - for an attorney to file on our behalf in a district court.
Scenario
41 year old male had surgery in an attempt to correct his sleep apnea.
Soldier was on approved leave.
Soldier survived surgery and was put on a morphine drip for 24 hours. Before he was discharged from the military medical center, a 75 mcg/hr Duragesic patch was applied to his back. He went home. That night he went to bed and never awoke. He died a max of 12 hours from the patch being applied. The patch was applied even though he was post surgical, was NOT opioid tolerant, and had decreased respiratory reserve. Fentanyl is not to be the first pain reliever tried and the use of the med in this case contradicts the guidelines for prescribing opioids.
The med was prescribed AFTER the following were issued: a Dear Healthcare Professional letter by the manufacturer (Janssen) in June 2005, a health advisory from the FDA in July 2005, two MMQCs from the USAMMA at Ft. Detrick in July 2005, a safety alert from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in August 2005, and a warning in the DoD Patient Safety Center September/October 2005 Hot Topics. This is a very obvious case of medical negligence.
No one has presented a Feres doctrine case before the Supreme Court since 1987. I do not see how the Supreme Court could uphold the Feres doctrine in this case:
patient on approved leave;
non combat related;
obvious negligence (contraindicated med given at 2nd highest dose);
would easily be malpractice case if civilian doctor;
medicine is medicine so the courts should not be afraid to interfere in this "military" case; military malpractice is the same as civilian malpractice;
the doctor was not disciplined by the military - he was promoted two months after the death;
doctor did not follow guidelines for the standard of care for prescribing opioids.
There is something inherently wrong with our judicial system when an incarcerated criminal's family would be able to sue and collect in a case like this one, but a soldier's family can not because that right was taken away when the soldier volunteered to serve his country.

