Arizona VA & Military Wrongful Death Malpractice Attorneys

Medical negligence at Arizona's VA medical centers and military hospitals creates devastating grief for families who know their loved one's death was preventable. These tragic losses represent not just personal devastation, but violations of the fundamental duty of care that federal medical facilities owe to our veterans and service members.

At the Archuleta Law Firm, our founding attorney is both a licensed attorney and medical doctor, providing unique insight into wrongful death cases and medical standards of care. The VA Office of Inspector General reports that preventable deaths in VA facilities often result from failures in diagnosis, treatment delays, and inadequate monitoring. Our medical-legal expertise helps us identify and prove these issues.

If you lost a loved one due to medical negligence at an Arizona VA or military facility, you have legal rights under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). To secure justice and compensation for your family, understand your rights and how Arizona's wrongful death laws interact with federal claims.

• Failure to Diagnose Critical Conditions: When medical staff miss signs of heart attacks, strokes, sepsis, or cancer, delayed treatment can result in preventable death. This constitutes malpractice when the symptoms were clear and standard diagnostic protocols were not followed.

• Medication Errors and Drug Interactions: Prescribing incorrect medications, wrong dosages, or failing to check for dangerous drug interactions can lead to fatal reactions. These errors represent clear violations of pharmaceutical safety standards.

• Surgical Complications and Errors: Deaths during or after surgery due to anesthesia errors, surgical site infections, or procedural mistakes often indicate negligence when proper surgical protocols were not followed.

• Emergency Room Delays and Misdiagnosis: Failure to properly triage patients or misdiagnosing emergency conditions like heart attacks or pulmonary embolisms can result in death when immediate treatment could have saved the patient's life.

• Inadequate Post-Operative Monitoring: Deaths following surgery due to undetected complications, infections, or bleeding often result from insufficient monitoring and failure to respond appropriately to warning signs.

• Nursing Care Failures: Inadequate patient monitoring, failure to respond to alarms, or improper administration of treatments can lead to preventable deaths, especially in intensive care settings.

We represent families who have lost loved ones due to medical negligence at major federal medical facilities throughout Arizona. These facilities handle complex cases where proper medical protocols are essential to prevent tragic outcomes.

• Phoenix VA Medical Center (Phoenix): As Arizona's largest VA facility, this medical center handles high-risk patients where monitoring failures and diagnostic errors can prove fatal.

• Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (Tucson): This comprehensive medical center provides complex surgical and emergency services where procedural errors can result in wrongful death.

• Northern Arizona VA Health Care System (Prescott): Serving rural veterans, delayed diagnoses and inadequate emergency response protocols at this facility have led to preventable deaths.

• Luke Air Force Base Medical Clinic (Glendale): Military personnel and families depend on proper emergency care and surgical services at this facility.

View all Arizona VA & Military Facilities

• Your loved one showed clear symptoms of a serious condition that medical staff failed to recognize or investigate properly
• Death occurred shortly after a surgical procedure due to complications that should have been prevented or detected earlier
• Medical staff failed to respond promptly to critical changes in vital signs or patient condition
• Multiple medical opinions suggest the death was preventable with proper care and monitoring
• Hospital staff failed to follow established protocols for emergency situations or critical care
• Your loved one died from medication reactions or drug interactions that should have been anticipated
• Death resulted from hospital-acquired infections that proper sanitation and monitoring could have prevented

Economic Damages

Arizona wrongful death claims can recover economic losses, including lost lifetime earnings based on the deceased's age, occupation, and earning capacity. Medical and funeral expenses incurred as a result of the negligent care are fully recoverable. You can calculate and claim the loss of financial support and contributions to household services that the deceased would have provided. Lost pension benefits, social security, and other retirement benefits that family members would have received are compensable damages.

Non-Economic Damages

Surviving family members can recover for their profound grief, mental anguish, and emotional suffering caused by the wrongful death. Loss of companionship, guidance, and the emotional support the deceased provided to spouses and children represents significant compensable harm. The pain and suffering the deceased experienced before death, when conscious, can also be recovered in Arizona wrongful death cases.

Arizona-Specific Considerations

Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-612, wrongful death actions must be brought by surviving spouses, children, parents, or the personal representative of the estate. Arizona follows a comparative fault system, meaning damages may be reduced if the deceased was partially responsible for their death. Importantly, Arizona does not impose damage caps on wrongful death cases, unlike some states that limit non-economic damages. The Federal Tort Claims Act requires that damages be calculated according to the law of the state where the negligence occurred, making Arizona's favorable damage laws applicable to FTCA wrongful death claims.

Statute of Limitations

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. § 2401), wrongful death claims against VA and military facilities must be filed within two years of when the claim accrues. Arizona's discovery rule may apply, meaning the two-year period begins when family members knew or reasonably should have known that the death was caused by medical negligence. This can extend the filing deadline in cases where the connection between negligent care and death was not immediately apparent.

Expert Witness Requirements

Arizona requires qualified medical expert testimony to establish the standard of care, prove that the standard was breached, and demonstrate that the breach caused the wrongful death. The expert must be licensed to practice medicine and have experience in the same specialty as the defendant medical provider. In FTCA cases, experts must be familiar with the federal standard of care applicable to VA and military medical facilities.

For complete step-by-step filing instructions, see our guide: How to File a VA Medical Malpractice Claim in Arizona

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. § 2401), you have two years from the date the claim accrues to file a wrongful death lawsuit against a VA or military facility. The claim typically accrues when you discover that medical negligence caused your loved one's death, which may be later than the actual date of death.

Arizona allows recovery of both economic damages (lost earnings, medical expenses, funeral costs) and non-economic damages (grief, loss of companionship, emotional suffering). Arizona does not cap damages in wrongful death cases, and under Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-612, damages are distributed among surviving family members based on their individual losses.

Arizona does not impose damage caps on wrongful death cases, making it more favorable than states that limit non-economic damages. Since FTCA claims apply the law of the state where negligence occurred, Arizona's lack of damage caps benefits families pursuing wrongful death claims against federal facilities.

You cannot sue individual military doctors personally, but you can file an FTCA claim against the United States government for negligent care provided by military medical personnel. The Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. § 2671) makes the government liable for negligent acts of federal employees acting within their official duties.

Yes, Arizona requires qualified medical expert testimony to prove that negligent care caused the wrongful death. The expert must be licensed to practice medicine and have experience in the relevant medical specialty to establish the standard of care and prove it was breached.

FTCA wrongful death cases typically take 18 months to 3 years to resolve, depending on case complexity and whether the government accepts liability. The process includes an initial administrative claim period where the government has six months to respond before you can file a federal lawsuit.

Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-612, wrongful death claims must be filed by and in the name of the surviving spouse, surviving children, surviving parents or guardian, or the personal representative of the deceased person's estate. These parties bring the action on behalf of the estate and all survivors.

A death is considered wrongful when it results from negligent, reckless, or intentional conduct that breaches the standard of medical care. In VA and military hospital cases, this includes diagnostic errors, surgical mistakes, medication errors, or failure to provide timely treatment that a reasonable medical professional would have provided under similar circumstances.

When you or a loved one has suffered preventable deaths due to medical negligence at VA and military hospitals at a Arizona VA or military facility, you need attorneys who understand both medicine and law. The Archuleta Law Firm offers a unique combination of expertise:

• Doctor-Attorney on Staff: Our founding attorney holds both an MD and JD, providing unmatched insight into Wrongful Death cases and the medical standards of care that were violated.

• Proven Results: Over $145 million recovered for military and VA medical malpractice victims nationwide, including complex Wrongful Death cases.

• Arizona FTCA Experience: We have successfully handled Federal Tort Claims Act cases involving Arizona VA medical centers and military treatment facilities.

• No Fee Unless We Win: You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. We advance all case costs and expenses.

• Nationwide Practice: Licensed to handle FTCA cases in all 50 states, including Arizona, with dedicated knowledge of federal medical malpractice law.

• Compassionate Approach: We understand the physical, emotional, and financial toll that Wrongful Death takes on families. Our team is here to support you through every step of the legal process.

If you or a loved one suffered preventable deaths due to medical negligence at VA and military hospitals at a Arizona VA medical center or military hospital, you may be entitled to significant compensation under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

The Archuleta Law Firm offers free, confidential case evaluations for Arizona Wrongful Death victims. Our Arizona Wrongful Death attorneys will:

• Review your medical records and case details at no cost
• Explain your legal rights under the FTCA
• Assess the strength of your potential claim
• Answer your questions about the Arizona legal process
• Discuss the compensation you may be entitled to recover

Don't wait - the FTCA has strict deadlines for filing claims. Contact us today to protect your rights.

Call 1-800-798-9529 for a free consultation, or Request Your Free Case Evaluation Online.

Arizona VA Malpractice Information

• Military & VA Medical Malpractice in Arizona - Complete guide to filing claims in Arizona, including facility listings and legal requirements

Other Arizona Case Types We Handle

• Arizona Surgical Errors Cases
• Arizona Emergency Room Errors Cases
• Arizona Brain Injury Cases

Wrongful Death Resources

• Wrongful Death Lawyers (Nationwide) - General Wrongful Death information
• FTCA Claims Process - Understanding the Federal Tort Claims Act
• Standard Form 95 Guide - How to complete the required claim form

Contact Us

• Phone: 1-800-798-9529
• Free Case Evaluation

When your loved one's death was caused by negligent medical care at a VA facility in Arizona, you have important rights under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), but strict deadlines apply. You must file your administrative claim within two years from when you knew or should have known about the negligence that caused the death. This is done by submitting Standard Form 95 to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Once filed, the VA has six months to investigate and respond to your claim before you can proceed with a lawsuit.

Having an attorney who is also a licensed medical doctor can be invaluable for military wrongful death cases. These complex claims require both legal expertise and deep medical knowledge to prove that substandard care directly caused the death. A doctor-attorney can quickly identify deviations from the standard of care, understand complex medical records, and effectively communicate with expert witnesses. This dual expertise helps build the strongest possible case while navigating both the VA system and federal court requirements.

Under Arizona law and the FTCA, surviving family members may be eligible to recover several types of damages. These can include medical expenses incurred before death, funeral and burial costs, loss of future income and benefits, loss of companionship, and compensation for the pain and suffering your loved one experienced before passing. For military families, calculating damages often requires careful consideration of military benefits, pensions, and other service-related compensation that was lost.

If you've lost a family member due to possible medical negligence at an Arizona VA facility, you deserve to understand your legal options. Our team offers free, confidential case evaluations to help you determine if you have a valid claim and explain the FTCA process in detail. Don't let important deadlines pass - contact us to speak with an experienced doctor-attorney who understands both the medical and legal aspects of military wrongful death cases. We're here to support military families through this difficult process while fighting to hold the VA accountable when preventable errors cost veterans their lives.

We handle various types of VA and military medical malpractice cases in Arizona:

• Arizona Surgical Errors Cases
• Arizona Emergency Room Errors Cases
• Arizona Brain Injury Cases
• Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Cases
• Arizona Misdiagnosis Cases
• Arizona Medication Errors Cases