BACKGROUND: (Indictment story): "Veteran's widow speaks out after former VA doctor charged in 3 deaths," by reporter Omar Villafranca, published by CBS News on August 21, 2019. "The indictment of a former doctor at a VA hospital in Arkansas is sending shock waves through the nation's largest health care system. Dr. Robert Morris Levy, 53, is accused of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of three patients — and he could be responsible for the deaths of at least a dozen others. Kathy McCoy's husband, Michael, died late last year. He was a proud grandfather of 10 and a retired Army sergeant. In 2014, he went to an Arkansas VA complaining of pain in his leg.
"He was in constant
pain. It got to where at the end he couldn't walk … he would crawl a
lot," McCoy told CBS News. "They kept saying it was arthritis." She said it ended up being a blood clot in the legg. McCoy's
case is one of thousands under review after VA pathologist Robert Levy
was accused of manslaughter in the deaths of at least three veterans by
misdiagnosis or falsifying their diagnoses. "We looked at the most serious
cases and the cases that were the most prosecutable and those are the
three cases that we feel confident that we can take into court and get a
conviction," Duane Kees, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of
Arkansas, said. Levy was chief pathologist
at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of the Ozarks for more than a
decade, but he was fired last year after he was accused of working while
drunk. The federal indictment accuses him of practicing while
intoxicated by drinking a potent form of alcohol called
2-methyl-2-butanol — or 2M2B — a form of alcohol that can't be detected
in a common drug and alcohol test. Levy can be seen in police
bodycam footage said to be from a 2018 DUI stop. It was released by a
law firm representing some of his alleged victims. An 18-month VA investigation into
more than 30,000 cases under Levy's supervision found 3,029 showed
errors or misdiagnoses, and concluded they may have led to at least 15
deaths, some from cancer. McCoy explained that her husband felt like he trusted a system that ultimately failed him. "I think there, at the end, he knew they had failed him," she said. McCoy
is buried here at the Fort Smith National Cemetery. But his family
wonders if a proper diagnosis could have saved his life. In a statement,
Levy said he's innocent and will defend himself vigorously.
If convicted of all counts, Levy faces a sentence of up to 524 years in prison and $7.75 million in fines, Kees said."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/veterans-affairs-pathologist-charged-robert-levy-involuntary-manslaughter-widow-speaks-out-today-2019-08-21/If convicted of all counts, Levy faces a sentence of up to 524 years in prison and $7.75 million in fines, Kees said."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The assurances and apologies have come as cold comfort to the families of 21,000 veterans diagnosed by chief pathologist Robert Morris Levy over 12 years, many of whom will live for years with the consequences of his mistakes. Compounding their pain is a sense of betrayal that VA officials did not intervene sooner, firing Levy only after he was arrested in the spring of 2018 for driving under the influence. On the Fayetteville campus, rated one of VA’s best, Levy’s supervisors failed to heed early warnings that he was endangering patients and then were slow to act, according to internal VA documents, court filings and interviews with 20 congressional officials, veterans and current and former VA employees. Federal prosecutors charged Levy, 53, last week with three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of three veterans. VA officials now acknowledge that he botched diagnoses of at least 15 patients who later died and 15 others whose health was seriously harmed. The number of those affected, however, is much greater, and the full repercussions of Levy’s actions may not be known for years. VA officials say Levy made 3,000 errors or misdiagnoses dating to 2005."
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PHOTO CAPTION: "Former pathologist Robert Morris Levy has been charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of three veterans." (Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
STORY: "How Veterans Affairs failed to stop a pathologist who misdiagnosed 3,000 cases," by reporter Lisa Rein, published by The Washington Post on August 30, 2019. (Reporter covering federal agencies and the management of government in the Trump administration.)
GIST: "By the time he and his wife Sara faced Veterans Affairs medical staff across a conference table in September, Kelly Copelin had lost 75 pounds and could swallow only small pieces of solid food. Radiation therapy had blistered his throat. This was the moment they would finally learn why their lives were so changed. Why when he went to the Fayetteville VA three years earlier with a severe earache, the biopsy came back negative — and he was given antibiotics instead of treatment for what was diagnosed 13 months later as late-stage neck and throat cancer. The pathologist who had misdiagnosed Copelin’s diseased tissue in 2015 was intoxicated, the hospital’s chief physician told the couple. He had failed to see the squamous cell carcinoma on the slide before him, the doctor said. “We are so sorry,” Copelin, 63, remembers him saying. Sobbing, the retired Air Force master sergeant said he asked whether he would be suffering this much if the cancer had been caught before he was at stage 4, with tumors spread to both sides of his face. The treatment would have been the same, doctors told him, stopping short of answering his question directly. The assurances and apologies have come as cold comfort to the families of 21,000 veterans diagnosed by chief pathologist Robert Morris Levy over 12 years, many of whom will live for years with the consequences of his mistakes. Compounding their pain is a sense of betrayal that VA officials did not intervene sooner, firing Levy only after he was arrested in the spring of 2018 for driving under the influence. On the Fayetteville campus, rated one of VA’s best, Levy’s supervisors failed to heed early warnings that he was endangering patients and then were slow to act, according to internal VA documents, court filings and interviews with 20 congressional officials, veterans and current and former VA employees. Federal prosecutors charged Levy, 53, last week with three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of three veterans. VA officials now acknowledge that he botched diagnoses of at least 15 patients who later died and 15 others whose health was seriously harmed. The number of those affected, however, is much greater, and the full repercussions of Levy’s actions may not be known for years. VA officials say Levy made 3,000 errors or misdiagnoses dating to 2005. VA officials say they have added oversight of small specialty staffs across the system — as was the case in Fayetteville — to ensure “independent and objective oversight.” The Fayetteville medical center has also increased monitoring of its clinical lab. “VA grieves for all of the Veterans and loved ones affected by this heartbreaking situation,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement to The Washington Post. “It’s hard to fathom how a physician sworn to do no harm could be so reckless, and the fact that his behavior continued for some time is testament to his shameless duplicity.” He said the agency has made systemwide changes to prevent similar situations in the future. “Like all health care providers, VA occasionally experiences unexpected adverse outcomes in a small percentage of cases. When that happens, we hold ourselves accountable,” Wilkie said, adding that Fayetteville VA officials are working to “regain the trust” of veterans “while helping bring two things to this situation that have been lacking for far too long: accountability and justice.” Levy is now in jail in Fayetteville, pending a bond hearing. His attorney, Darren O’Quinn, said his client “did what VA said and got treatment” for his addiction. “People aren’t perfect, and medical doctors aren’t perfect,” O’Quinn said. “You’re going to have some errors. That doesn’t mean you’re a criminal.” He said he plans to dispute the number of misdiagnoses. The mistakes of a physician they never saw has sowed anger among an aging population of veterans whose illnesses Levy was charged with diagnosing and monitoring. Many had cancers he missed. Others were told they were sick when they were healthy — and mistakenly given invasive treatment. Prosecutors say Levy concealed his errors by altering patient records and evaded detection by swallowing a dangerous substance that gave him a quick and powerful high, but that was indiscernible on common drug and alcohol tests. His patients and their relatives say they blame VA for allowing him to continue to practice. “I went from, ‘Your earache isn’t anything’ to stage 4,” Copelin said. “With VA, it’s competence and integrity. Both of those have been shot right out the door.” A VA spokeswoman said the agency “used all legal measures in its control to fire the employee as quickly as possible.” But even after he arrived at the lab impaired at least twice, VA awarded Levy two performance bonuses on top of his $225,000 salary based on peer reviews that appeared to show that he had a minuscule clinical error rate, according to the indictment. The truth was just the opposite. "
(This is just a portion of a very significant article which is lengthy but well worth the read. Journalism at its best. HL;) The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
