Alaska VA & Military Spinal Cord Injury Malpractice Attorneys

In Alaska, veterans and military families depend on VA and military hospitals for medical care. But medical mistakes can cause spinal cord injuries that change lives forever.

Each year, 17,810 new spinal cord injuries occur in the United States. Many result from preventable medical errors. Our founding attorney is both a lawyer and doctor, giving us unique insight into these cases.

We know how to handle Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) cases against federal medical facilities. Our combined medical and legal expertise helps us tackle complex spinal cord injury cases effectively.

We understand the special rules that apply to VA and military facility claims. Our experience with federal regulations sets us apart from typical malpractice attorneys.

Did you suffer a spinal cord injury at an Alaska VA or military facility? You have rights under the FTCA. Let our medical and legal experts help you get fair compensation.

Spinal cord injuries at federal facilities are rarely unavoidable; they usually follow a lapse in recognition, technique or monitoring:

• Delayed diagnosis of cord compression: Progressive weakness, numbness, and bowel or bladder changes require urgent MRI; treatable compression becomes permanent paralysis when imaging is delayed.
• Missed spinal epidural abscess: Back pain with fever or elevated inflammatory markers calls for imaging and prompt antibiotics or drainage; delay causes irreversible damage.
• Surgical technique and hardware errors: Operating at the wrong level, misplacing instrumentation, or injuring the cord during decompression produces immediate deficits.
• Positioning and prolonged operative time: Improper positioning during long procedures can compress the cord or reduce its blood supply.
• Anticoagulation and neuraxial procedures: Epidural or spinal procedures performed without observing anticoagulation timing can cause a compressive hematoma.
• Failure to monitor after procedures: New or worsening neurological findings after surgery or a spinal procedure require immediate imaging; documented deficits that go unaddressed are a recurring source of permanent injury.

We handle FTCA spinal cord injury claims arising at Alaska's federal medical facilities, including:

• Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System (Anchorage) — Alaska's VA medical facility, providing specialty and surgical services to veterans statewide.
• 673rd Medical Group (Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage) — the largest military treatment facility in Alaska, serving members of multiple branches and their families.
• Bassett Army Community Hospital (Fort Wainwright) — the Army hospital serving interior Alaska, including emergency and inpatient care.
• 354th Medical Group (Eielson Air Force Base) — military treatment facility serving personnel and families in interior Alaska.

Distance matters in Alaska spinal cord cases: when urgent imaging or neurosurgical evaluation requires transfer to another facility, delays in recognizing cord compression and arranging transport are often central to the claim.

View all Alaska VA & Military Facilities

Not every poor outcome after spinal treatment is negligence. These circumstances are the ones worth having reviewed:

• You reported new weakness, numbness, or loss of bowel or bladder control and no urgent imaging was ordered.
• Back pain accompanied by fever or elevated inflammatory markers was treated as routine, and an abscess or infection was found later.
• Neurological function was documented as normal before a procedure and impaired afterward.
• A spinal or epidural procedure was performed while you were on blood thinners, without the recommended timing interval.
• Post-operative complaints of worsening pain or new deficits were recorded in the chart but not escalated or imaged.
• Imaging performed earlier showed a finding — stenosis, a mass, a fracture — that was never communicated or acted on.
• Transfer to a facility capable of urgent neurosurgical evaluation was delayed, and the delay appears in the records.