Retiree awarded $1 million in malpractice suit - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Retiree awarded $1 million in malpractice suit

A retired chief petty officer will receive a nearly $1 million settlement after claiming that Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla., botched his medical treatment and forced doctors to remove part of his brain.

Retired Operations Specialist Chief (SW) Edward Brock, 42, of Jacksonville, is now “permanently and totally disabled,” and unable to support his family, said Sean Cronin, Brock’s attorney.

Brock was awarded a $625,000 cash settlement along with monthly payments of $1,600 for the rest of his life, an annuity valued at about $325,000.

The settlement was approved Aug. 3, after Brock filed a lawsuit against the Navy that was scheduled for a jury trial in September, officials said.

The lawsuit stemmed from treatment Brock received on March 20, 2007, when he went to the naval hospital complaining of severe headaches, Cronin said.

Hospital officials initially diagnosed the retiree with viral meningitis and discharged him March 22, Cronin said.

On March 24, Brock was still suffering severe headaches and went to a nearby civilian-run hospital, where he was correctly diagnosed with viral encephalitis, Cronin said.

The delayed diagnosis resulted in severe brain swelling, and doctors had to remove parts of Brock’s brain, Cronin said.

Federal law prohibits sailors from suing the military, but Brock’s case proceeded because he was retired at the time of the incident. Brock retired in 2005.

Capt. Bruce Gillingham, Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s commanding officer, expressed sympathy for Brock and his family.

“I continue to offer the Brock family my sincere condolences. I hope that the resolution of the legal aspects of this case helps them realize some sense of peace,” Gillingham said in a prepared statement.

“As a hospital dedicated to high quality patient and family-centered care, we consider all of our patients [to be] family. We rigorously evaluate the care we deliver on a continual basis and institute improvements when we identify opportunities.

“Naval Hospital Jacksonville stands ready to assist the Brock family with any further issues that may be appropriate, either ongoing or that might arise in the future.”

Since 2000, Naval Hospital Jacksonville has faced at least 26 malpractice lawsuits involving at least 15 deaths, according to Cronin and Military Times research. In many of the cases, the government reached a settlement rather than risk multi-million verdicts at trial.

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