{"id":5694,"date":"2017-12-03T13:23:46","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T18:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lcpllutzlivetotell.org\/?p=5694"},"modified":"2018-03-20T13:20:45","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T17:20:45","slug":"va-malpratice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/?p=5694","title":{"rendered":"VA  hires doctors with past malpractice claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"js-ui-video-init ui-pluto-video js-video-aps js-uw-iframe-video uw-iframe-video story-video inline-story-video priority smallarticleattophtml5\" data-video-id=\"108206034\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"uw-iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/uw-media.usatoday.com\/video\/embed\/108206034?sitelabel=reimagine&amp;platform=desktop&amp;continuousplay=true&amp;placement=uw-smallarticleattophtml5&amp;pagetype=story\" name=\"108206034\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"ui-video-controls story-video inline-story-video priority\">\n<p class=\"video-desc\">A USA TODAY investigation finds the Department of Veterans Affairs has repeatedly hired healthcare workers with problem pasts, like neurosurgeon John Henry Schneider, whose license had been revoked after a patient death.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">USA TODAY<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"expand-img-horiz\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/54fa6c3439292a04365da5e17101da063eff1376\/c=0-116-1178-1002&amp;r=x404&amp;c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/11\/30\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636476387681682867-XXX-KATHY-MONACO-95494883.JPG\" alt=\"Kathy Monaco\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2017\/11\/30\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636476387681682867-XXX-KATHY-MONACO-95494883.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/aa6286d4cfc5e02587f54d56440b38e3e61dfb52\/r=346x400\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/11\/30\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636476387681682867-XXX-KATHY-MONACO-95494883.JPG\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"image-credit-wrap\"><span class=\"js-caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Larry Mayer, Billings Gazette)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"module-position-Qdr5Z8Yaoq8\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket story-headline-module story-story-headline-module\">\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">USA TODAY Investigation: VA knowingly hires doctors with past malpractice claims, discipline for poor care<\/h1>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-Qdr5Z8Y-Emg\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket priority-asset-module story-priority-asset-module\"><\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-Qdr5Z8YCiac\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket story-byline-module story-story-byline-module\">\n<div class=\"asset-metabar\"><span class=\"asset-metabar-author asset-metabar-item\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/staff\/3975\/donovan-slack\/\" rel=\"author\">Donovan Slack<\/a>, USA TODAY<\/span><span class=\"asset-metabar-time asset-metabar-item nobyline\">Published 11:29 a.m. ET Dec. 3, 2017 |\u00a0<span class=\"asset-metabar-time-updated\">Updated 1:18 p.m. ET Dec. 3, 2017<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">Neurosurgeon John Henry Schneider racked up more than a dozen malpractice claims and settlements in two states, including cases alleging he made surgical mistakes that left patients maimed, paralyzed or dead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He was accused of costing one patient bladder and bowel control after placing spinal screws incorrectly, he allegedly left another paralyzed from the waist down after placing a device improperly in his spinal canal. The state of Wyoming revoked his medical license after another surgical patient died.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Schneider then applied for a job earlier this year at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. He was forthright in his\u00a0application about the license revocation and other malpractice troubles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But the VA hired him anyway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He started work in April at a hospital that serves 184,000 veterans in 50 counties in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Some of his\u00a0patients already have suffered complications. Schneider performed four brain surgeries in a span of four weeks on one 65-year-old veteran who died in August, according to interviews with Schneider and family members. He has performed three spine surgeries on a 77-year-old Army veteran since July \u2014 the last two to try and clean up a lumbar infection from the first, the patient said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Schneider\u2019s hiring is not an isolated case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">A VA hospital in Oklahoma knowingly hired a psychiatrist previously sanctioned for sexual misconduct who went on to sleep with a VA patient, according to internal documents. A Louisiana VA clinic hired a psychologist with felony convictions. The VA ended up firing\u00a0him after they determined\u00a0he was a \u201cdirect threat to others\u201d and the VA\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">As a result of USA TODAY\u2019s investigation of Schneider, VA officials determined his hiring \u2014\u00a0and potentially that of an\u00a0unknown\u00a0number of other doctors \u2014\u00a0was illegal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qdr5Z8qBQH0\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/dbdc05c652e486bbbf0c2b03b424556a393b0c40\/c=318-0-5298-3744&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/12\/01\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636476986183778030-Iowa-City-VA-file.jpg\" alt=\"The VA Medical Center in Iowa City is pictured in 2014.(Photo:\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" data-mycapture-src=\"\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"\" \/>The VA Medical Center in Iowa City is pictured in 2014.(Photo: Press-Citizen file photo)\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Press-Citizen)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\">\u00a0<span style=\"font-family: 'Source Sans Pro';\">Federal law bars the agency from hiring physicians whose license has been revoked by a state board, even if\u00a0they still hold an active license in another state. Schneider still has a license in Montana, even though his Wyoming license was revoked.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">VA spokesman Curt Cashour said agency officials provided hospital officials in Iowa City with\u00a0\u201cincorrect guidance\u201d green-lighting Schneider\u2019s hire.\u00a0The VA moved to fire Schneider last Wednesday. He resigned instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Cashour also said the VA would look into whether other doctors had been improperly hired.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cWe will take the same prompt removal action with any other improper hires we discover,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-72\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike partner-placement-visible ad-gray-border ad-notice ad-paramount-inline\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,3,3\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-usatoday-native-article_link-news-politics-74\" class=\"ad-slot\" data-google-query-id=\"CKKrlrf98NcCFRdCAQod_oEC7g\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/usatoday\/native-article_link\/news\/politics_0__container__\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Source Sans Pro';\">A USA TODAY investigation in October revealed\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/2017\/10\/11\/va-conceals-shoddy-care-and-health-workers-mistakes\/739852001\/\">how the VA has for years concealed shoddy care and mistakes by medical workers\u00a0<\/a><span style=\"font-family: 'Source Sans Pro';\">when they leave\u00a0the agency, allowing them to escape their pasts and potentially endanger patients elsewhere.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The results of the investigation of Schneider and other VA practitioners with problem pasts reveal potentially dangerous shortfalls when they join the agency as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In response to the findings, Cashour said the agency is also initiating an \u201cindependent, third-party clinical review\u201d of the care Schneider provided with complications in Iowa City\u00a0relayed to USA TODAY by patients or\u00a0family members.<\/p>\n<div class=\"partner-outstream\">\n<div class=\"partner-video\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In an interview, Schneider maintained that he has not provided substandard care. He blamed poor outcomes for patients on other providers involved in their treatment or on unfortunate complications not caused by his care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Schneider said\u00a0his insurance company decided to settle some of his prior cases regardless of their merit, and he filed an appeal of the Wyoming revocation,\u00a0a case that&#8217;s still pending.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;I&#8217;m a neurosurgeon; neurosurgeons across the country get litigation because of complications related to surgery,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Of 15 malpractice complaints identified by USA TODAY, four were\u00a0settled, and two were dropped by plaintiffs. Six others were deemed valid by a trustee after Schneider filed bankruptcy in 2014, court records show. The trustee rejected the other\u00a0claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">One malpractice lawyer and neurosurgeon who is not familiar with Schneider\u2019s case said that in general, having a dozen malpractice claims in as many years raises\u00a0red flags.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThat\u2019s certainly not usual. It\u2019s definitely an outlier.\u201d said Larry Schlachter, author of\u00a0<em>Malpractice: A Neurosurgeon Reveals How Our Health Care System Puts Patients at Risk<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For Schneider\u2019s former patients and their family members, news of his hiring at the VA\u00a0and\u00a0return to the operating room\u00a0after his Wyoming license was revoked came as a shock.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cWhat in the world?\u201d said Scherry Lee, who is awaiting payment for a malpractice complaint against Schneider after a failed neck surgery in Wyoming in 2012. She says it left\u00a0her in debilitating pain with difficulty speaking and swallowing. \u201cHow does this happen, especially with a neurosurgeon?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2\">A trail of malpractice claims<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Less than two months after Montana issued Schneider a medical license in 1997, Jason Zimmerman was rushed to the emergency room at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He had excess fluid building up around his brain that was creating dangerous intracranial pressure, according to court records. A tube and valve system that had been implanted to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid had malfunctioned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">His family sued Schneider and a practice partner alleging they provided substandard care and Zimmerman suffered \u201cprofound neurological injury\u201d that left him permanently impaired, the complaint says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He and his family members ultimately dropped their malpractice suit because they worried Zimmerman\u2019s prior substance abuse would impede the case, his sister Wendy Conaway told USA TODAY.\u00a0Schneider blamed his partner for the injuries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But it was only the first of four malpractice claims he would face over the next five years from surgical patients\u00a0at St. Vincent hospital. The others settled for undisclosed amounts, court records show.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qdr5Z8rE7kA\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/aac79f897d5e84c2df9324f0a1529d26ea34d0fc\/c=0-0-943-709&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/12\/01\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636476988909427502-OnlineBioSchneider.jpg\" alt=\"Online biography for John Henry Schneider.\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" data-mycapture-src=\"\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"\" \/>Online biography for John Henry Schneider.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: ww.udemy.com\/user\/dr-schneider\/)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">They included the case of Lloyd Hickey, who was paralyzed from the waist down after Schneider allegedly implanted a device improperly in his spinal canal, and Carmen Riddle, who lost bladder and bowel control after three spine surgeries by Schneider. The wife of Thomas Deiling settled her wrongful death claim against Schneider\u00a0after her husband died from complications after four surgeries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cI continued the lawsuit hoping I could force him out of practice, but I couldn\u2019t because of the cap on medical negligence lawsuits,\u201d Jeanine Deiling said in a recent interview.\u00a0She said Schneider\u00a0failed to properly diagnose and quickly treat a pervasive\u00a0infection that ended up eating away at her husband&#8217;s spine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Her best hope, Deiling said, was to add hers to the\u00a0list of malpractice claims, and \u201cif enough lawsuits added up, he\u2019d never be able to get malpractice insurance and he\u2019d have to quit practicing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Schneider did stop\u00a0performing surgeries in Montana, but he started performing them in Wyoming instead. And he formed a company, Northern Rockies Insurance Company, that\u00a0provided his own malpractice insurance, a move that eventually helped land\u00a0him in bankruptcy and unable to pay off all his claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">At hospitals in Cody and Powell, Wyo., and a surgical center in Sheridan, Wyo., Schneider performed operations between 2006 and 2012 that eventually prompted at least eight more malpractice complaints.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qdr5Z8rbsgs\" class=\"story-asset oembed-asset\">\n<div class=\"story-oembed-wrap \">\n<div class=\"js-oembed story-oembed story-oembed-gannett story-oembed-type-rich\" data-oembed-type=\"rich\" data-oembed-provider=\"gannett\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"interactive-map-iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/experiments\/usatoday\/responsive\/graphics\/2017\/11\/120117-bad-doctors-stepper\/index.html\" width=\"540\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The case that captured the attention of Wyoming Board of Medicine officials was Russell Monaco, a father of two who went under Schneider\u2019s knife in 2011 for a procedure to decrease pressure on nerves in his lower back, according to a wrongful death suit filed by his wife, Kathy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">After the operation, he was prescribed a litany of narcotics that can depress breathing, including fentanyl, oxycodone, valium, and Demerol. Monaco\u2019s oxygen\u00a0levels dropped dangerously low, but Schneider discharged him anyway, medical board records show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He went home and took the medications as prescribed, the lawsuit says, but his family found him dead the next morning. The coroner determined the cause of death was \u201cmixed drug overdose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cI tried to wake him up and yelled and the girls came down screaming,\u201d his wife, Kathy Monaco, told USA TODAY. \u201cIt was horrible, I mean, I live that day over every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Wyoming Board swiftly placed restrictions on Schneider\u2019s license and ultimately revoked it in 2014.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Schneider filed bankruptcy in December that year, leaving malpractice claimants hanging without payment even now, including the Monaco family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In an interview, Schneider\u00a0laid blame for Monaco&#8217;s death on a physician\u00a0assistant who prescribed the medications. He said an aide in the operating room\u00a0caused Hickey&#8217;s paralysis, and he blamed Riddle&#8217;s injury on a hematoma caused by medications prescribed by another provider. In Deiling&#8217;s case, Schneider asserted\u00a0standard tests\u00a0didn&#8217;t initially pick up the infection or indicate he needed\u00a0more timely treatment.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2\">Vetting revelations<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The VA hiring process is seemingly rigorous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Applications are vetted, education and licenses verified, references checked, and interviews conducted. For clinical hires, a review and approval by a professional standards board also is required.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But when applicants disclose prior problems with medical licensing short of revocation, malpractice or criminal histories, VA hospital officials have discretion to weigh the providers\u2019 explanations and approve their hiring anyway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The VA hospital in Muskogee, Okla., hired a psychiatrist in 2013 with multiple disciplinary actions against his Oklahoma license, including for sexual misconduct, according to internal documents obtained by USA TODAY.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Hospital officials knew about his past, but approved his hiring anyway with the condition he be closely monitored during his probation period, the documents show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">And yet the psychiatrist, Stephen Lester Greer, went on to have a sexual relationship with a VA patient\u00a0and ended up pleading guilty in August to witness tampering for trying to persuade the patient to lie about it to federal investigators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The VA hired a psychologist to work at a clinic in Lafayette, La., in 2004, despite his revealing previous felony convictions on his application, according to the internal documents, which don\u2019t identify the provider by name. The VA didn\u2019t run a criminal background check until a year after he started work. It showed eight arrests, including for burglary, drug dealing and reckless driving resulting in death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Still the VA allowed him to continue practicing until two years ago. By that time, the VA had received multiple complaints about patient mistreatment by the psychologist. An internal investigation found he was a \u201cdirect threat to others, (and) to the Department\u2019s mission.\u201d The VA fired him earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The VA hospital in Jackson, Miss., hired ophthalmologist Daniel K. Kim, despite his being sanctioned by licensing authorities in Georgia. During his subsequent surgeries at the VA, a World War II veteran was blinded in 2006 and he allegedly implanted the wrong lens in another patient\u2019s eye in 2012.\u00a0Kim has denied any wrongdoing, and a VA investigation suggested a nurse assisting Kim caused the blinding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Psychiatrist David Houlihan landed a job at a VA hospital in Wisconsin in 2002 and was promoted to chief of staff two years later, even though the Iowa Board of Medicine had charged him with engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a patient and taking patient medications home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He went on to earn\u00a0the nickname \u201ccandy man\u201d at the Tomah, Wis., VA because of the prolific amounts of narcotics he prescribed. The VA fired Houlihan in 2015 after revelations a 35-year-old veteran patient had died from mixed drug toxicity at the facility. He has denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to surrender his medical license in Wisconsin earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Some of the VA\u2019s policies can attract medical workers with past malpractice or licensing problems. Agency clinicians aren\u2019t required to have malpractice insurance \u2014 the federal government pays out claims using taxpayer dollars\u00a0\u2014 making the VA a good fit for providers who may have difficulties securing\u00a0malpractice insurance in the private sector if past issues have rendered them too risky.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Iowa City VA had been looking for a full-time neurosurgeon for nearly\u00a0a year when Schneider came along.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In his job application, Schneider disclosed \u201call the issues\u201d and the VA hired him after a \u201cgroup of his medical peers thoroughly reviewed\u201d his file and \u201capproved his competency,\u201d the VA said in a prepared statement provided to USA TODAY.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Schneider began work in April at an annual salary of $385,000.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2\">Complicated surgeries<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Complications soon began cropping up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Schneider, who describes himself as a spinal specialist, performed surgery in July to remove a benign tumor from a 65-year-old patient&#8217;s brain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Richard Joseph Hopkins survived three more brain surgeries for ensuing complications before dying Aug. 23 from infection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cRick was strong, he was a bull,\u201d his sister Annette Rainsford said. \u201cWhy would you go into someone\u2019s head four times?\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qdr5Z8quStY\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"single-photo float\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/7e8696b991235a4c82c61f61f8f261f2ae89e2a4\/c=0-0-959-1278&amp;r=183&amp;c=0-0-180-240\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/11\/30\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636476392961380711-RichardJosephHopkins.jpg\" alt=\"Richard Joseph Hopkins died Aug. 23, 2017, after four\" width=\"180\" height=\"240\" data-mycapture-src=\"\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"\" \/>Richard Joseph Hopkins died Aug. 23, 2017, after four brain surgeries in four weeks at the VA hospital in Iowa City, Ia., family members said.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Courtesy Hopkins family)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">James Wehmeyer, a 77-year-old Army veteran, said Schneider performed his first spinal procedure in July. The neurosurgeon subsequently did two more operations to try and clean up infection from the first, prompting concerns something might be amiss with his\u00a0treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cI thought that, but I didn\u2019t know,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Wehmeyer said it\u2019s been a month since his last surgery, and a nurse still visits him at home every three days to clean out the wound, which he said hasn\u2019t healed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThere\u2019s a big hole in there they\u2019re trying to close up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">At least three other patients suffered infections after procedures Schneider conducted at the Iowa City VA \u2014\u00a0two deep-wound and one superficial \u2014\u00a0but they were cured with antibiotics, Schneider said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In September, Schneider was arrested on federal criminal charges of lying and trying to conceal assets in his bankruptcy case in Montana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">His patients in Iowa City showed up for surgery but had to be rescheduled when he didn\u2019t show up for work. Schneider told his VA bosses what happened when he got back to Iowa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He continued practicing.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qdr5Z8rK-iY\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/19fea53d3331500ff58e22acac8a600ba1827e95\/c=0-5-1118-846&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/12\/01\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636476981421691504-ScreengrabHopkins.JPG\" alt=\"Online obituary for Richard J Hopkins.\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" data-mycapture-src=\"\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"\" \/>Online obituary for Richard J Hopkins.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Handout)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Schneider, who pleaded not guilty to the charges,\u00a0said in an interview that infections suffered\u00a0by his VA patients were not his fault, but rather\u00a0complications that can occur in neurosurgery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He said Hopkins&#8217; case was a &#8220;tragic&#8221; example, where he developed two brain bleeds and then fluid buildup, each requiring another\u00a0surgery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve had a great run at the VA with zero issues,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Have I had to take patients back (for surgery) for post-op infection? Yes. I mean, I can&#8217;t prevent every infection.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">One of Schneider\u2019s patients from Wyoming said that whatever the case, the VA never should have hired him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cHere the veterans, they went and served their country, and they\u2019re messed up and everything,\u201d said Michael Green, who is awaiting payment for a malpractice claim that alleged Schneider placed a screw incorrectly in his lower spine. \u201cAnd then turn that guy loose on them, that\u2019s what doesn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n<p>retrieved from:https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2017\/12\/03\/usa-today-investigation-va-knowingly-hires-doctors-past-malpractice-claims-discipline-poor-care\/909170001\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A USA TODAY investigation finds the Department of Veterans Affairs has repeatedly hired healthcare workers with problem pasts, like neurosurgeon John Henry Schneider, whose license had been revoked after a patient death.\u00a0USA TODAY (Photo: Larry Mayer, Billings Gazette) USA TODAY Investigation: VA knowingly hires doctors with past malpractice claims, discipline &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}