Troubled VA hospital settles death suit

MARION, Ill., Nov. 25 (UPI) -- An attorney says his client has accepted a $1 million settlement in her wrongful death suit against a troubled Veterans Administration hospital in Illinois.

Katrina Shank, of Murray, Ky., sued after her husband, Robert, died after gallbladder surgery performed by a doctor who had surrendered his medical license in Massachusetts because of substandard performance.

The Chicago Tribune said Tuesday that the lawsuit was settled earlier this month

"It was a combination of negligence in the way he did the surgery and post-operative care, and institutional negligence for allowing him to practice there," Shank's attorney, Dr. Stanley Heller told the Tribune.

The newspaper said the Marion VA Medical Center in Marion, Ill., was the subject of a departmental investigation that concluded substandard care had resulted in nine deaths and 34 injuries at the hospital during a two-year period that ended last fall.