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The family of Sgt. Brieux Dash, a veteran who died by suicide in a Department of Veterans Affairs mental health unit last year, filed a claim against the VA on Friday, arguing that the agency’s “deliberate indifference” and “complete disregard for patient safety” contributed to Dash’s death.<\/p>\n
Dash, 33, hung himself March 14, 2019, on a door in the locked mental health unit at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. His death prompted an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, which found unsafe practices in the unit.<\/p>\n
Managers of the unit didn’t pay enough attention to training requirements, the IG’s office wrote in its report. There was also a lack of oversight from regional and national offices, as well as staffing issues, inoperable cameras and too much time between nurses’ safety rounds. In addition, no one had recognized the risk posed by corridor doors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Sounds like there’s lots of stuff the VA could have been doing better. Not just at the hospital. His final dive into suicidal depression was triggered in part by the VA overpaying him. As usual, the government devised a payment plan that worked well for at least one party; the government.<\/p>\n
Four days before his hospitalization, he received a notice from the VA, stating that the agency had overpaid him nearly $20,000 in benefits and would be stalling any future payments until the amount was paid. Emma Dash’s claim says the letter “sent Brieux into a downward spiral of depression, anxiety, emotional distress and fragility.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I imagine this suit will settle. I can tell you that someone committed to killing themselves is going to find a way. It sounds like absent a straight jacket and a padded cell, he was in the safest spot possible.<\/p>\n
Source; Military.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"