Family of Federal Way veteran settles VA suit for $700,000
Seattle Times
By Mike Carter
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009430637_vasettle08m0.html
On November 7, 2006, Gordon Whitcomb admitted himself to the inpatient psychiatry ward at the Seattle Division of VA Puget Sound because he was psychotic due to an exacerbation of his Bipolar Disorder. Upon admission, he was actively paranoid, suffering from severe paranoid delusions of persecution, believing his neighbors were plotting to kill him. Despite his psychosis, the VA staff did not take away Gordon's leather belt upon admission.
Over the next two (2) days, VA Puget Sound employees noted in Gordon's records that he was depressed with delusions of persecution, auditory hallucinations, extreme paranoia, suicidal ideations, and that he was at serious risk for suicide. One note in particular reported that Gordon stated, 'I could fall down in the shower on purpose.'
Within hours of each other there were two nursing (2) notes where Gordon stated that he wanted to harm himself, yet no employee of the VA made modifications to any existing treatment plan regarding taking or enhancing suicide precautions, nor did anyone follow up with Gordon. Hours after nursing staff completing rounds, they found Gordon in his bathroom with his own leather belt around his neck, hanging from a non-suicide-proof bathroom grab bar. Code team efforts were unsuccessful. Gordon was pronounced dead on November 9, 2006, at the age of forty-nine (49) years old.
At the time of Gordon's death, he was survived by his wife of eight (8) years, Vanessa Whitcomb, and his five (5) adult stepchildren who all loved him very much. He had been retired from the Armed Forces since 1987, receiving one-hundred percent 100% Service Connected disability for chronic psychiatric problems due to Bipolar Disorder.
Under the FTCA, medical negligence claims included the following: Failure to inventory and take possession of Gordon's leather belt during the initial patient assessment and then failing to take the belt away when it was discovered that he was not only psychotic, but suicidal; Failure to minimize the danger in Gordon's room and placing him in a room with grab bars that were not suicide resistant; Failure to plan, detail, or follow-up on suicidal ideations noted in chart notes; and Failure to supervise and observe Gordon by leaving him alone in his room for hours with his belt and sturdy non-suicide-resistant shower grab bars.
The Plaintiff in this case was Vanessa Whitcomb, the surviving spouse and personal representative of the Estate of Gordon Whitcomb. Special damages claimed were for Gordon's household services as a husband, as well as funeral expenses. No economic wage loss was claimed due to life consumption factors.
Settlement/Mediation: $700,000 for wrongful death and survival claims, including general damages awarded principally to Vanessa Whitcomb, the surviving spouse.
Plaintiff's experts: Mathew F. Carol, M.D., Forensic Psychiatrist, San Diego, CA; Robert Moss, Economist, Seattle, WA.
Special comments: On May 18, 2007, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations ("Joint Commission"), a group that studies, examines, and certifies the accreditation status of numerous hospitals throughout the United States, inspected the VA Puget Sound and subsequently issued a preliminary denial of accreditation because inspectors discovered an immediate threat to life, including psychiatric-ward conditions posing a serious threat to patient health or safety. The Joint Commission found that the VA Puget Sound Health Care System's suicide assessments of mental health patients were inadequate. The Joint Commission found problems specific to the mental health units at the Seattle VA hospital, including risks in the patient room environment, such as showerheads, grab bars, and other environmental hazards that suicidal people could hang themselves with. The Joint Commission specifically cited problems in the "acute psychiatric" ward on floor 7E, where Gordon hung himself.
