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VA pathologist accused of being impaired on job

VA pathologist accused of being impaired on job
Posted at 4:40 PM, Jun 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-19 17:40:46-04

Thousands of veterans in danger tonight - after a pathologist at a VA clinic is accused of being impaired on the job at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The VA is withholding the name of the physician - but it wasn't his first time impaired on the job.

The doctor was reprimanded back in March 2016 and sent to an impaired physician program which he successfully completed.

It was the suspicion and concerns of fellow employees in October 2017 - alerting their chief of staff to his alleged impairment.

Now a team of 30 outside physicians is combing through every case handled by the doctor since his start back in 2005.

So far seven misdiagnoses have been found and they think one could've resulted in the death of a veteran.

In addition to mailing letters to alert past and current patients, the VA has set up a hotline for current and former patients who could have been misdiagnosed, like veteran Darrell Darner.

"It didn't go away for three years so I went to a civilian and it was positive," Darner said. "Now they're in the process of doing reconstructive surgery and it was cancer."

No one officially is saying what the doctor was on - drugs or alcohol - and no criminal charges have been reported.

The VA is urging all patients who receive a letter or who have concerns to contact their hotline at 866-388-5428.

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