thedrifter
05-07-03, 08:02 AM
May 05, 2003
Did the VA kill Buddy Roche?
Vietnam hero's family suing for $1 million
By Beth Quinn
Times Herald-Record
bquinn@th-record.com
Cathie Ruggerio has a message for those who are chanting "support our troops":
Understand that the government's support for our troops often ends when they come home. Especially for soldiers who need care at a VA hospital.
She should know.
"The VA basically murdered my brother," said the Newburgh resident. That was in 1999.
Her brother was William "Buddy" Roche, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran. He died June 11, 1999, of a heart attack that his sister says resulted from years of negligent care at the VA hospital at Castle Point. He was 51 years old.
Ruggerio and her mother, Catherine O'Dell, are battling Castle Point in a malpractice lawsuit to hold the veterans' health care system accountable – not only for causing her brother's death but for treating him like a worthless complainer.
"He had an undiagnosed heart condition and an undiagnosed broken neck," said Ruggerio. "And when he complained about pain, one VA doctor called him a momma's boy. The doctor smacked him on the butt and told him he lacked courage."
Castle Point officials declined comment on Ruggerio's charges because the lawsuit is still pending. Paperwork filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is defending the hospital, says VA officials deny the allegations.
But to understand just how wrong that doctor was about Buddy Roche lacking courage, we have to go back to July 22, 1968, when the former Poughkeepsie resident was a 19-year-old medic in Vietnam.
On that day, Roche saw his friends go down as bullets rattled the Vietnamese village of Song Be. He raced into enemy fire to drag them out.
The first bullet he took hit him in the leg. Then a grenade blew him down. Adrenaline got him up again, and he began dragging his fallen buddies to safety.
Two of them died. A few survived. Roche collapsed. He was left paralyzed.
His bravery earned him a Silver Star.
The young man who, decades later, would be told by a VA doctor that he lacked courage, was also awarded the Bronze Star, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Combat Medic Badge and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. And, of course, the Purple Heart for his wounds.
The wound that paralyzed his legs was a contusion to the spinal cord. With time and exercise, Roche walked again, although pain often kept him bedridden.
When he could, he worked. He earned a small living in acting, cinematography, music production and martial arts instruction.
But he always suffered from neck, arm and chest pain. By 1983, his pain prevented him from working at all.
"The VA doctors always told him the pain was in his head," said Ruggerio.
It turned out otherwise. In 1995, "his neck fell apart," said Ruggerio. His pain was more severe than ever during that July Fourth weekend. The VA doctor told him it was probably arthritis. "The doctor said, take Motrin and come back in two weeks," said Ruggerio.
Roche had had enough. He knew this wasn't arthritis. At his own expense, he went to a doctor in Manhattan, at the Hospital for Special Surgery. The doctor there took a look at his X-rays and asked him, have you ever been in an explosion?
Yes, said Roche. A long time ago.
Where, asked the doctor.
Vietnam, said Roche. A grenade, he said.
Well, that grenade broke your neck, the doctor told him.
Roche had been carrying around a broken neck for nearly 30 years. It had never been diagnosed by the VA. It had never healed properly.
"Right. A momma's boy," said Ruggerio.
Two painful surgeries followed – in 1995 and again in 1997 – both performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Meanwhile, Roche continued to have chest and arm pain. In June 1998, he was admitted to Castle Point.
As a spinal cord patient and a diabetic, he was at high risk for heart disease. The VA's own standard of care for such patients is a full coronary workup annually, including a stress test.
But Ruggerio said the doctors did only an EKG. Nothing else. And once again, Roche was told that the pain was all in his head.
Buddy Roche suffered a massive heart attack in his Poughkeepsie home almost exactly one year later. He was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Francis Hospital.
His family blames Castle Point. In April 2002, his mother sued the VA for $1 million.
Three weeks ago, the VA offered to settle the case for $9,000. The offer was rejected.
"Can you imagine this?" said Ruggerio. "My brother did what the country asked of him. Then he spent a lifetime being slowly tortured by the VA, and they say his life was worth $9,000?"
Ed Sullivan, one of the two Long Island lawyers representing Roche's family, said the VA makes low settlement offers because the families of veterans often suffer no economic damages as a result of a death.
It's a Catch-22. Buddy Roche wasn't working because he was in pain.
"And because he wasn't working, his death represents no economic loss to anyone," said Sullivan. "So, even though the VA murdered him, they may not have to pay damages."
Ironically, the settlement offer came on the same day that a report criticizing coronary care at VA hospitals was published.
In that report, released April 11, researchers found that patients at VA hospitals were less likely to get proper cardiac care than patients treated at community hospitals. The years studied, 1997-99, coincided with the years Buddy Roche was seeking help for his chest pain.
Buddy Roche's case points to a number of failures in the VA system, local lawmakers say.
Rep. Sue Kelly, R-Katonah, said she met with Castle Point officials a number of times during the late '90s in an effort to get Roche the proper care.
"Each time, I'd come away from a meeting with a promise that he'd be given a certain doctor, that they'd stop losing his paperwork, that the right tests would be done," said Kelly. "And each time, the follow-through wasn't there."
And now, even as the federal government is authorizing huge increases in military spending, the President and the Republican-dominated House of Representatives are advocating deep cuts in the VA's budget.
Last month, the House approved a budget that included more than $10 billion in cuts in health care for veterans. The Senate rejected the plan. The bill is headed for a compromise.
"It's great to wave the flag for our troops as they go off to war," said Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Saugerties, who voted against the House bill. "But we need to keep our promise to them when they come home."
As for Buddy Roche, said Hinchey, "We've been fighting the VA for years on the issue of negligent care. They can't make amends with $9,000. Their attitude is callous and wrong."
Sullivan said his client's case is typical of lawsuits against the VA. In fact, most settlements are so low that lawyers tend to shy away from them because they aren't worth their time.
"The system needs changing," said Sullivan. "There needs to be a way to hold the VA accountable for negligent care."
He suggests setting a minimum cap on settlements, regardless of a veteran's economic worth.
Ruggerio said the families of soldiers now overseas should take notice of her brother's story.
"The VA tortured my brother to death," said Ruggerio. "And our young soldiers need to know that, 30 years from now, it might be their own sisters begging the government to keep its promise to support our troops."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Support Our Soldiers"
United We Stand
God Bless America
*****
Were it not for the brave,
there would be no Land of the Free!
Remember our POW/MIA's
I'll never forget!
Sempers,
Roger
Did the VA kill Buddy Roche?
Vietnam hero's family suing for $1 million
By Beth Quinn
Times Herald-Record
bquinn@th-record.com
Cathie Ruggerio has a message for those who are chanting "support our troops":
Understand that the government's support for our troops often ends when they come home. Especially for soldiers who need care at a VA hospital.
She should know.
"The VA basically murdered my brother," said the Newburgh resident. That was in 1999.
Her brother was William "Buddy" Roche, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran. He died June 11, 1999, of a heart attack that his sister says resulted from years of negligent care at the VA hospital at Castle Point. He was 51 years old.
Ruggerio and her mother, Catherine O'Dell, are battling Castle Point in a malpractice lawsuit to hold the veterans' health care system accountable – not only for causing her brother's death but for treating him like a worthless complainer.
"He had an undiagnosed heart condition and an undiagnosed broken neck," said Ruggerio. "And when he complained about pain, one VA doctor called him a momma's boy. The doctor smacked him on the butt and told him he lacked courage."
Castle Point officials declined comment on Ruggerio's charges because the lawsuit is still pending. Paperwork filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is defending the hospital, says VA officials deny the allegations.
But to understand just how wrong that doctor was about Buddy Roche lacking courage, we have to go back to July 22, 1968, when the former Poughkeepsie resident was a 19-year-old medic in Vietnam.
On that day, Roche saw his friends go down as bullets rattled the Vietnamese village of Song Be. He raced into enemy fire to drag them out.
The first bullet he took hit him in the leg. Then a grenade blew him down. Adrenaline got him up again, and he began dragging his fallen buddies to safety.
Two of them died. A few survived. Roche collapsed. He was left paralyzed.
His bravery earned him a Silver Star.
The young man who, decades later, would be told by a VA doctor that he lacked courage, was also awarded the Bronze Star, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Combat Medic Badge and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. And, of course, the Purple Heart for his wounds.
The wound that paralyzed his legs was a contusion to the spinal cord. With time and exercise, Roche walked again, although pain often kept him bedridden.
When he could, he worked. He earned a small living in acting, cinematography, music production and martial arts instruction.
But he always suffered from neck, arm and chest pain. By 1983, his pain prevented him from working at all.
"The VA doctors always told him the pain was in his head," said Ruggerio.
It turned out otherwise. In 1995, "his neck fell apart," said Ruggerio. His pain was more severe than ever during that July Fourth weekend. The VA doctor told him it was probably arthritis. "The doctor said, take Motrin and come back in two weeks," said Ruggerio.
Roche had had enough. He knew this wasn't arthritis. At his own expense, he went to a doctor in Manhattan, at the Hospital for Special Surgery. The doctor there took a look at his X-rays and asked him, have you ever been in an explosion?
Yes, said Roche. A long time ago.
Where, asked the doctor.
Vietnam, said Roche. A grenade, he said.
Well, that grenade broke your neck, the doctor told him.
Roche had been carrying around a broken neck for nearly 30 years. It had never been diagnosed by the VA. It had never healed properly.
"Right. A momma's boy," said Ruggerio.
Two painful surgeries followed – in 1995 and again in 1997 – both performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Meanwhile, Roche continued to have chest and arm pain. In June 1998, he was admitted to Castle Point.
As a spinal cord patient and a diabetic, he was at high risk for heart disease. The VA's own standard of care for such patients is a full coronary workup annually, including a stress test.
But Ruggerio said the doctors did only an EKG. Nothing else. And once again, Roche was told that the pain was all in his head.
Buddy Roche suffered a massive heart attack in his Poughkeepsie home almost exactly one year later. He was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Francis Hospital.
His family blames Castle Point. In April 2002, his mother sued the VA for $1 million.
Three weeks ago, the VA offered to settle the case for $9,000. The offer was rejected.
"Can you imagine this?" said Ruggerio. "My brother did what the country asked of him. Then he spent a lifetime being slowly tortured by the VA, and they say his life was worth $9,000?"
Ed Sullivan, one of the two Long Island lawyers representing Roche's family, said the VA makes low settlement offers because the families of veterans often suffer no economic damages as a result of a death.
It's a Catch-22. Buddy Roche wasn't working because he was in pain.
"And because he wasn't working, his death represents no economic loss to anyone," said Sullivan. "So, even though the VA murdered him, they may not have to pay damages."
Ironically, the settlement offer came on the same day that a report criticizing coronary care at VA hospitals was published.
In that report, released April 11, researchers found that patients at VA hospitals were less likely to get proper cardiac care than patients treated at community hospitals. The years studied, 1997-99, coincided with the years Buddy Roche was seeking help for his chest pain.
Buddy Roche's case points to a number of failures in the VA system, local lawmakers say.
Rep. Sue Kelly, R-Katonah, said she met with Castle Point officials a number of times during the late '90s in an effort to get Roche the proper care.
"Each time, I'd come away from a meeting with a promise that he'd be given a certain doctor, that they'd stop losing his paperwork, that the right tests would be done," said Kelly. "And each time, the follow-through wasn't there."
And now, even as the federal government is authorizing huge increases in military spending, the President and the Republican-dominated House of Representatives are advocating deep cuts in the VA's budget.
Last month, the House approved a budget that included more than $10 billion in cuts in health care for veterans. The Senate rejected the plan. The bill is headed for a compromise.
"It's great to wave the flag for our troops as they go off to war," said Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Saugerties, who voted against the House bill. "But we need to keep our promise to them when they come home."
As for Buddy Roche, said Hinchey, "We've been fighting the VA for years on the issue of negligent care. They can't make amends with $9,000. Their attitude is callous and wrong."
Sullivan said his client's case is typical of lawsuits against the VA. In fact, most settlements are so low that lawyers tend to shy away from them because they aren't worth their time.
"The system needs changing," said Sullivan. "There needs to be a way to hold the VA accountable for negligent care."
He suggests setting a minimum cap on settlements, regardless of a veteran's economic worth.
Ruggerio said the families of soldiers now overseas should take notice of her brother's story.
"The VA tortured my brother to death," said Ruggerio. "And our young soldiers need to know that, 30 years from now, it might be their own sisters begging the government to keep its promise to support our troops."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Support Our Soldiers"
United We Stand
God Bless America
*****
Were it not for the brave,
there would be no Land of the Free!
Remember our POW/MIA's
I'll never forget!
Sempers,
Roger