Medical Malpractice Attorney Serving Military Service Members and Veterans in Columbia, Maryland
Just a few miles down the road from Columbia, Maryland, you’ll find Fort George G. Meade, headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the National Security Agency and so much more that it is home to more than 54,000 service members and civilian employees. Fort Meade is the largest employer in the state of Maryland and the second-largest military installation in terms of employee population in the Army.
Medical needs on base are served by Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center at Fort Meade, one of the most comprehensive military hospitals in the armed services. Kimbrough offers primary care, preventive care, hospital care and surgery, urgent and emergency care, mental health and substance abuse, medical equipment and supplies, lab tests and radiology, specialty care, case management, dental, pharmacy, vision, women’s health and pregnancy, men’s health, children’s health, readiness and more. Specialty services are all-encompassing, including:
- Allergy
- Audiology / Speech Pathology
- Chiropractic
- Clinical Psychology
- Community Health
- Dermatology
- Dietetics
- Family Health
- Family Medicine
- Gastroenterology
- Health Promotion
- Immunizations
- Infectious Disease
- Internal Medicine
- Mental Health
- OB/GYN
- Occupational Health
- Occupational Therapy
- Ophthalmology
- Optometry
- Orthopedics
- Otolaryngology (ENT)
- Pediatrics
- Physical Therapy
- Podiatry
- Population Health (wellness)
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Social Work
- Substance Abuse
- Surgery
- Urology
With such a wide variety of medical services being offered to such a large population, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that sometimes doctors, nurses, radiologists and other hospital staff members make mistakes that cause serious injuries to patients. What probably is surprising to people outside the military is how difficult it can be for soldiers harmed by medical malpractice to receive compensation for their injuries. In fact, from 1950 to 2020, active-duty military members didn’t have a way to file any kind of claim against a military doctor or hospital; the U.S. Supreme Court’s Feres Doctrine disallowed such claims against the government. Finally, in FY 20 the Feres Doctrine was partially overturned when the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) expressly provided that soldiers could file claims with the Department of Defense for medical malpractice incurred that was incident to their service.
Under the NDAA, military service members can file Standard Form 95 with their service branch and recover compensation for their injury, provided they can prove the medical provider breached a duty of care and this breach was the proximate cause of the soldier’s injury. This is easier said than done, however. There is no discovery process to obtain medical records and other vital information from the hospital, and there is no judicial review or appeal if the claim is denied. For the best chance at success, Standard Form 95 must be completed by an experienced medical malpractice attorney who knows the law and knows how to gather and present the facts needed for an approved claim.
Bertling Law Group is a medical malpractice law firm helping victims of military medical malpractice in Columbia, Maryland. Our office has decades of experience in medical malpractice law, including helping active-duty and retired military and their families in all forms of medical malpractice, including negligent medical care and mental health support resulting in suicide. If you were harmed in a Columbia military hospital or lost a loved one who went to Kimbrough seeking care, we can help you find out what went wrong and hold any negligent parties accountable for their preventable errors. Not all bad medical outcomes can be avoided, but when they are caused because doctors and hospitals failed to perform at the expected level of care, you can and should hold them responsible and receive compensation for your injuries.
Helping Veterans in Columbia Harmed by Medical Malpractice
Many thousands of military veterans in Columbia seek medical care from the VA. Local resources include the Baltimore VA Medical Center as well as Loch Raven VA Medical Center, also in Baltimore. These hospitals provide a wide range of medical services, including physical medicine and rehabilitation, surgery, physical and occupational therapy, emergency care, neurology, podiatry, prosthetics and rehabilitation, radiology, radiation oncology, optometry, pharmacy, cancer care, and much more.
Notably, these VA Medical Centers hold themselves out as providing suicide prevention and a Veterans Crisis Line, along with related mental health care, addiction and substance abuse care, drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation, homeless veteran care, returning service member care, PTSD care, military sexual trauma care, and more. When veterans come to a VA center in crisis, they should expect to be expertly diagnosed and treated safely and securely, with adequate measures to prevent them from self-harm. Negligently failing to provide this service is a tragic form of malpractice, and families bereaved of a loved one should be able to get justice and accountability through a medical malpractice wrongful death claim.
Bertling Law Group helps veterans in Columbia pursue administrative relief by filing Standard Form 95 with the VA Regional Counsel. If this claim can’t get satisfactorily resolved, our experienced litigators are willing to take the further step and file a lawsuit in federal court where we’ll seek the full measure of compensation available for the damage done. We’ve handled hundreds of medical malpractice cases and have no problem with going to court if that’s what it takes to get a fair deal for our clients.
Help Is Here for Military and Veteran Medical Malpractice in Columbia, MD
If you were harmed by medical malpractice at a military hospital, VA medical center or clinic in Columbia, Maryland, or if you lost a loved one due to medical negligence, please call Bertling Law Group at 844-295-7588. We’ll be your voice with the DOD or VA and work to get you the care and compensation you need and deserve.
