In the last five years, the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center faced close scrutiny after allegations that a dentist at the clinic habitually practiced improper hygiene. Resulting from the scrutiny, the Dayton VA Medical Center has faced 72 medical malpractice claims. Almost $1 million in total has been paid out by the U.S. Department of VA in a string of eight deaths related to those claims between 2005 and 2008. In addition, there are currently at least 16 pending claims seeking a total of well over $6 million.

The highest payout was due after a man died when a doctor error was committed through failure to diagnosis and thereby failure to treat an infection in a timely manner. The victim had undergone hip surgery and consequently developed an infection that became fatal when not quickly diagnosed and treated. The victim's family was entitled to compensation for their loss and in a federal medical malpractice lawsuit was awarded $275,000 in damages.

While such compensation can work toward covering possible lost wages and possible funeral expenses, it can never work toward bringing back the victim. While the victim of a fatal medical malpractice case can never be brought back, compensation may work toward bringing the family of the departed some sense of closure.

The Ohio VA hospital noted that over the last five years, only a small percentage of their three million patients filed malpractice claims. However, in a statement issued by the Dayton VA, the hospital said, "However small, one is too many."

One medical malpractice claim can amount to serious repercussions. One victim has the potential to touch several lives. One claim could mean not only that a victim may have died or suffered unnecessarily, but that the victim's family could have been spared possibly immense pain had there not been a failure to treat the patient properly.

Source: Chillicothe Gazette, "Ohio V.A. clinic paid $940K in cases over eight deaths," Mar. 12, 2012