A legislative committee has endorsed a $250,000 settlement with the state’s veterans department over a World War II veteran who died while his nurse went to eat her lunch.
The Joint Budget Committee’s Claims Subcommittee approved the settlement this week, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. The decision will now be considered by the Joint Budget Committee.
A complaint filed by 86-year-old William Dale Varner’s family says the Fayetteville Veterans Home patient complained of “being weak” and needed help getting into bed on Jan. 15, 2013.
An occupational therapist came to his room three hours later and noticed that he was having difficulty breathing and responding to her. The therapist went to get a nurse, who was having lunch and didn’t check on Varner.
A second nurse noticed that his condition worsened around 11:45 a.m. He died five minutes later.
Varner’s family originally sought nearly $2.2 million in their claim against the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs. Both sides agreed to the settlement.
Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, took issue with the $250,000 figure, saying that Varner, at age 86, had lived a “pretty full life.” Collins wondered whether perfect care at the time would’ve extended the man’s life.
Collins said that taxpayer money shouldn’t be given out easily and asked if the settlement was the result of Arkansas officials being satisfied to not be responsible for the amount the family originally sought.
The decision to settle was reached because both sides had competing medical testimony, said Mindi Pipkin, a state attorney.
Topics Arkansas
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