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Bill would let troops sue for malpractice

A New York congressman is hunting for cosponsors for a bill that would let service members sue the military for medical malpractice.

The Carmelo Rodriquez Military Medical Accountability Act, introduced by Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey, is named for a Marine sergeant who died last year from skin cancer after what Hinchey said was a series of mistakes by military medical personnel.

Rodriquez, who was 29 when he died, had a melanoma on his buttocks that had been misdiagnosed as a birthmark or wart by military doctors in Iraq, Hinchey said, citing medical records his office obtained from the Army when the Marine’s family sought his help.

Rodriquez ended up having three surgeries, plus radiation and chemotherapy treatments, but the care came too late, after the cancer had spread, Hinchey said.

His legislation would reverse a 1950 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, known as the Feres Doctrine, that prohibits lawsuits for medical negligence that harms service members.

There have been many attempts over the years to change the law, but lawmakers have been reluctant to reverse a policy that defense officials — especially military doctors — have said is essential to keep qualified medical personnel in the services and to avoid a disruption in the military rank structure, where officers would be threatened by possible lawsuits from lower-ranking personnel.

Hinchey’s bill, HR 6093, would allow claims for damages for death or personal injury resulting from negligence, the failure to act or wrongful acts in medical, dental or other health care provided by the military to service members. Claims would be brought against the government, not the individuals.

It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill, introduced May 20, has two key cosponsors — Reps. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman, and Barney Frank, D-Mass., who has sponsored similar legislation in the past that was approved by the House of Representative but not by the Senate.

Hinchey said Rodriquez’s death underscores the need to change the law to provide more accountability, as well as to improve the military medical system, which is “spread far too thin by the occupation of Iraq.”

"Our military is facing shortfalls of doctors, nurses, and other health care staff across the board,” Hinchey said in a statement. “Additionally, it is incumbent upon the military to ensure that it has doctors who know how to diagnose noncombat injuries and diseases such as skin cancer, rather than just having doctors who are trained to treat combat wounds.”