Widow of Deceased Pittsburgh Veteran Got Small Fraction of $8 Million Claim

By Walter F. Roche Jr.


The widow of an 87-year-old victim of Legionnaires Disease settled her $8 million suit against the Veterans Administration in Pittsburgh for $225,000.
The details of the settlement were filed in the estate of William Nicklas, who died of Legionnaires Disease on Nov. 23, 2012.  Greta Nicklas had filed an $8 million suit against the VA charging that the agency's Pittsburgh facility was responsible for his death.
The suit was settled before trial along with a handful of other cases from victims of the same Legionnaires outbreak. At the time of the settlements, families involved in the cases declined to disclose any details.
The settlement was approved in Allegheny Probate Court just one month after the Nicklas' family attorney, Harry S. Cohen submitted it.
Calling the proposed payment "fair and appropriate under the circumstances," Cohen noted in his petition Nicklas' advanced age and the fact that he was not employed at the time of his death.
He also said his 25 percent legal fee totaling $56,250 and expenses totaling $18,728 were "fair and earned."
Under the federal Tort Claims Act lawyers fees are capped at 25 percent of any settlement.
That left just a little over $150,000 for Greta Nicklas.
State tax officials, records show, concluded she did not owe any taxes on her share of the payment.
Cohen's petition cited the history of Nicklas illness and death. The veteran first went to the VA's Oakland facility in October of 2012 complaining of breathing problems. He was sent home but returned Nov. 1 and was admitted for treatment of dehydration.
According to the petition, VA officials told the family on Nov. 17, 2012 that he had some kind of an infection. He died six days later and the death was ultimately attributed to the Legionella virus.
The 2011-2012 outbreak created a national controversy resulting in congressional hearings and a shakeup in the leadership of the VA's region covering Pennsylvania and parts of two other states.
Nicklas and five others died in the outbreak while nearly 20 were sickened.
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VA OIG Disputes Pittsburgh Legionella Allegations

By Walter F. Roche Jr.


The Inspector General for the U.S. Veterans Administration has found that test results for Legionnaires disease were delayed for three veterans treated at a Pittsburgh facility but the delays did not affect the care provided to victims.
In a brief 8-page report made public today the Inspector General said he "substantiated occasional delays in  reporting of Legionella test results."
The report, the result of a formal complaint, included a review of six cases in which patients died from Legionnaires disease and 25 cases in which urine tests showed evidence of Legionella. The cases fell between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2014.
According to the report one of the six fatal cases in the 2012 outbreak showed evidence of a delay in the reporting of positive test results while delays were found for two of the 25 patients with positive urine test results.
Two test results were delayed for three days, while one was delayed for four days.
"However," the report states, "for all patients with a positive test result, antibiologics effective against Legionella had been initiated empirically either prior to the the date the test was ordered or on the same day,"  Assistant Inspector General Dr. John D. Daigh wrote in the report.
He concluded that as a result the delayed test reporting did not cause death or additional illness for any of the veterans.
 The IG also disputed a claim that VA personnel improperly flushed water systems prior to Legionnella testing thus negating the test results.
"We did not substantiate that water faucets were flushed excessively," the report concluded.
The acting regional directors for the Pittsburgh VA, David S. MacPherson, concurred in the IG's findings.