A national defense bill will include hundreds of millions in funding to pay out medical malpractice claims, a provision included largely due to a fight launched by a cancer-stricken soldier at Fort Bragg.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes $400 million over the next 10 years to cover malpractice claims in the absence of the ability of active-duty soldiers to sue military facilities and staff for medical malpractice. Fort Bragg-based Sgt. 1st Class Richard Stayskal launched an advocacy campaign for funding after he claimed military doctors failed to diagnosis him during a physical in January 2017.
Today, Stayskal has stage-four cancer.
As with other branches of the U.S. government, the ability to sue is extremely limited. Under the Feres Doctrine, active-duty military personnel cannot file lawsuits.
Soldiers still will not be able to sue for medical practice but can file a complaint with the Department of Defense, which will then be charged with investigating and pay out if proved to be a credible claim.
"I don't have enough words to describe right now, you know," Stayskal told ABC 11, which first reported his story. "It was a tough, hard challenging road for a long time it felt like, but it was all worth it in the end. It's just a great day."
The news station reported that Stayskal, a Purple Heart recipient, went for a routine physical at Womack Army Medical Center but the cancer was not identified. It was only after his health began to decline further, and following a visit to a civilian doctor, that he was told he had cancer.
After confirming he was not able to sue for any alleged malpractice, Stayskal began lobbying Congress. Elements of a filed bill, The Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act of 2019, were included in the NDAA.
"We are all now united and we are able to give our military the rights that they deserve," Stayskal's attorney, Natalie Khawam, told ABC 11.
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