News – Sheridan Media
A civil lawsuit was recently filed in Federal Court in Wyoming that claims that hospital staff of the Sheridan VA Medical Center falsely reported the death of Navy Veteran John Behles. The complaint was filed by Barbara Pierson, who is the estate representative of Behles. According to the lawsuit filed by Pierson, sometime during the evening of June 9, 2020, Behles suffered a catastrophic or traumatic event, likely either an assault or a drop/fall from a patient lift — that resulted in a severe traumatic head injury. On June 10, Behles died as a direct result of those injuries. The cause of death was listed as bronchopneumonia.
Pierson claims that after the event, staff with the Sheridan VAMC falsely reported to 911 and later charted that Behles had fallen from his bed, which the complaint states “was impossible because the bed was in the low position, surrounded by pads, and with the rails up.” A VAMC nurse called the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office to report that the patient’s injuries were not consistent with a fall and that the pool of blood from the fall had been cleaned up by staff, which the nurse said was suspicious. The VAMC Police interviewed several medical providers who opined that Behles injuries were inconsistent with a fall and that staff chart notes also indicate a coverup of the true cause of Behles’s catastrophic traumatic head injuries.
The complaint filed by Pierson alleges that Behles was either assaulted or was dropped by a VAMC staff member, and that VAMC staff agreed to cover up the true cause of Behles’s injuries and subsequent death. Pierson claims that Behles death was the result of the VAMC being short staffed, which resulted in either a lack of appropriate supervision, or the improper use of a patient lift device with only one staff member instead of two.
A letter that was sent from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to Pierson’s attorney in May, 2022, states that their review concluded there was no negligent or wrongful act on the part of any employee at the VAMC acting within the scope of employment that caused compensable harm and that Pierson’s claim had been denied. The letter further states that if Pierson is dissatisfied with the denial of her claims, she may file suit directly under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which resulted in the current lawsuit. Pierson is seeking damages not to exceed $11 million.
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Last modified: October 30, 2022