Widows Lose Case in Fake VA Studies

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Widows Lose Case in Fake VA Studies
Knight Ridder | December 12, 2007

ALBANY -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Department of Veterans Affairs by the widows of five veterans who died after being enrolled in corrupt drug experiments at Stratton VA Medical Center.

In dismissing the case at the request of federal attorneys, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Thomas J. McAvoy cited the fact there is no proof the veterans, all of whom were terminally ill cancer patients, had died prematurely or endured added pain and suffering as a result of being fraudulently enrolled in studies designed to test drugs for marketability.

"Sometimes a court has to render a decision it would not like to render," McAvoy said Dec. 10.

He commented from the bench that what went on at Stratton hospital was "egregious conduct" but he is bound to follow "existing law" which sets no basis for the plaintiffs' families to recover damages in the case.

Alan Milstein, a Philadelphia-area lawyer hired by the widows, argued in court that the widows deserve compensation because their husbands suffered in ways that cannot be measured from forged medical records or the opinions of expert physicians.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,158041,00.html?wh=wh