ANOTHER WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT IN MYSTERIOUS VA HOSPITAL DEATHS (06/02/2020) 6/1/2020 - The third wrongful death lawsuit was filed today against the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Clarksburg. This one was filed on behalf of the son and daughter of retired Navy Seaman John W. Hallman. All three lawsuits relate to as many as 11 mysterious deaths at the Louis A. Johnson Medical Center which came to light in mid-2019. The suit blames the leadership team at the hospital for failing to follow established policies on medical care, hospital care and medical reporting – concluding “the wrongful death of retired Seaman John W. Hallman was a foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s negligence. “ Despite urgings from the state’s congressional delegation, the investigation is still open by the U.S. Justice Department. 4/22/2020 - The second wrongful death civil lawsuit has been filed concerning the 12 suspicious deaths of veterans at the VA Medical Center in Clarksburg. In most of these cases, the patients were given a fatal dose of insulin even though they were not diabetic. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of West Virginia has convened a grand jury and is looking at a person of interest in the case, so far no one has been charged with any crime. The subject of the most recent lawsuit is the death of Ret. Senior Master Sergeant George Nelson Shaw Sr., who died in April 2018, after being admitted to the VA Medical Center approximately a month prior. George Nelson Shaw Sr. In September 2019, Shaw’s family filed a notice of claim regarding his death, stating that Shaw was given an injection of insulin that was not necesarry or ordered for him, causing him to develop severe hypoglycemia and die. Now his family has filed a civil suit against the VA over Shaw’s wrongful death. The suit describes the high death rate in patients that were admitted to Floor 3A at the VA, and stated that “A clear pattern emerged in these dying patients demonstrating a sudden, unexpected severe decline in their respective medical condition during the night shift hours between 1:00 am and 7:00 am followed by death in patients admitted on floor 3A. In patients who fit this pattern that had glucose testing, the test results revealed sudden severe unexplained hypoglycemia.” CLARKSBURG VA SUSPICIOUS DEATHS RISES TO 12 - Death Toll Could Go Higher 3/10/2020 - It’s been nearly three years since the first suspicious death of a U.S. military veteran at the VA Hospital in Clarksburg. For the last several months the death count stood at 11, but that has changed again. “I’ve actually got contacted by another lawyer, just two days ago, with a 12th. And the body was exhumed,” says Tony O’Dell, an attorney for many of the VA families. He thinks the toll could even go higher. So far, six of the victim’s families have gone public with their names, but as of now, the 12th victim has not been named publicly. The family of Army Sargent Felix McDermott was the first to go public, and the first to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the VA. We’ve now learned that the person of interest named in that lawsuit, is also detailed in the medical records of most other victims. She is the now-fired VA employee, named Reta Mays. “She is from what we understand, a nursing assistant. And not only does she appear in Mr. McDermott’s case, she appears in virtually almost all of them. There’s maybe one where her name doesn’t appear during the event, but we believe she was on shift during that time,” says O’Dell. The fact the first of several anticipated lawsuits has now been filed is welcome news in Congress, which is also investigating the VA deaths. “Well, first of all, there’s no sense in it being as long as it’s been. I cannot believe it’s over a year and a half now, that we’re still going down this path and still have no concrete definite answers. So I’m happy that they are moving forward, so we can get answers. And I hope the person who is responsible is going to be punished as quickly as possible,” says Sen. Joe Manchin, (D) West Virginia. So far the VA has not responded to the lawsuit. So when will more lawsuits be filed? The answer is soon. By law, attorneys must give the government 6-months notice that a suit may be filed, and in many of these cases, that deadline is approaching fast. REPORTS SAY FEDERAL GRAND JURY EMPANELED ON 11 SUSPICIOUS CLARKSBURG VA DEATHS 2/2/2020 - “This is one of the worst crimes I’ve ever heard of,” said State Sen. William Ihlenfeld, (D) Ohio and former US Attorney for the northern district of WV. News reports today indicate a grand jury has been empaneled, likely started about 30 days ago. Ihlenfeld welcomes the federal grand jury investigation into 11 suspicious deaths of veterans at the VA Medical Center in Clarksburg. AT least hree of those cases are considered homicides, and could result in federal first degree murder charges, because the deaths happened on federal property. “It is death penalty eligible. And so this person, whoever it might be, if convicted of this crime, could face the death penalty,” he said. Several of the families have hired lawyers to file civil lawsuits in the case, alleging wrongful death. Attorney Tony O’Dell is representing most of the victim’s relatives. “We hope this results in an indictment and an arrest. But still we want answers on the hospital side. People’s heads need to roll and they need to be accountable for what they did and didn’t do up there,” said Tony O’Dell, attorney for VA victim’s families.