$7.5 million compensation payout in Air Force medical negligence case
In 2008, Guam district court awarded Deborah Rutledge, wife of US Air Force member Master Sgt. Thomas Rutledge, $7.5 million in medical negligence compensation after she made a claim against the family medical clinic at the Andersen Air Base. The US Circuit Court of Appeals in California later upheld the appeal.
On several occasions in the summer of 2004, Mrs Rutledge sought help at the Andersen clinic. She complained of numbness in her feet, legs and groin, but the medical staff at the clinic didn't carry out the basic examinations that such symptoms demand. As a result, a herniated spinal disc went undiagnosed.
Mrs Rutledge eventually found out she had a herniated spinal disc, and had to go to Hawaii for an emergency operation. Although there weren't any complications with the procedure, she suffered nerve damage because the herniated disc had been left untreated for so long. Her quality of life has been impaired as a result.
The Rutledges were relieved to have reached the end of a "long drawn out process" and were happy that justice had ultimately been done, according to their attorney. The original district court ruling was "eminently fair," he said, adding that "the reasonableness of the award" had been affirmed by the appeals court.
Service-members on active duty can't sue the military for medical negligence, but their dependents can, according to the Feres Doctrine, a legal precedent dating back 60 years. This doctrine allowed Deborah Rutledge to pursue her case through the civil courts, and she secured considerable damages of $7.5 million.
Established in 1944, Andersen air base was originally known as North Field, and takes its current name from Brigadier General James Roy Andersen (1904-1945). The site provides forward support to bomber crews deploying overseas in Europe, Southwest Asia and the Pacific, along with 3 other bases in the US. Officials at Andersen Air Base officials have chosen not to comment on the clinical negligence case.
On several occasions in the summer of 2004, Mrs Rutledge sought help at the Andersen clinic. She complained of numbness in her feet, legs and groin, but the medical staff at the clinic didn't carry out the basic examinations that such symptoms demand. As a result, a herniated spinal disc went undiagnosed.
Mrs Rutledge eventually found out she had a herniated spinal disc, and had to go to Hawaii for an emergency operation. Although there weren't any complications with the procedure, she suffered nerve damage because the herniated disc had been left untreated for so long. Her quality of life has been impaired as a result.
The Rutledges were relieved to have reached the end of a "long drawn out process" and were happy that justice had ultimately been done, according to their attorney. The original district court ruling was "eminently fair," he said, adding that "the reasonableness of the award" had been affirmed by the appeals court.
Service-members on active duty can't sue the military for medical negligence, but their dependents can, according to the Feres Doctrine, a legal precedent dating back 60 years. This doctrine allowed Deborah Rutledge to pursue her case through the civil courts, and she secured considerable damages of $7.5 million.
Established in 1944, Andersen air base was originally known as North Field, and takes its current name from Brigadier General James Roy Andersen (1904-1945). The site provides forward support to bomber crews deploying overseas in Europe, Southwest Asia and the Pacific, along with 3 other bases in the US. Officials at Andersen Air Base officials have chosen not to comment on the clinical negligence case.
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