Maine VA & Military Brain Injury Malpractice Attorneys

Veterans and active-duty military personnel trust Maine's VA medical centers and military treatment facilities for competent neurological care. Unfortunately, medical negligence can occur while diagnosing, treating, or monitoring brain conditions, resulting in devastating traumatic brain injuries that forever change lives and families.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that preventable medical errors during hospital care cause many traumatic brain injuries each year in America. At the Archuleta Law Firm, our founding attorney is both a licensed attorney and a medical doctor, giving us unparalleled expertise in the complex medical standards governing brain injury prevention and treatment in federal healthcare facilities.

Brain injuries range from life-threatening complications, like brain bleeding, to seemingly mild concussions, and can cause serious cognitive and memory impairments with long-term consequences. If you or a loved one suffered a brain injury due to negligent care at a Maine VA or military hospital, you have legal rights under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) to seek compensation from the U.S. government for your damages.

• Failure to Diagnose Stroke or Aneurysm: When emergency room physicians or neurologists fail to recognize the warning signs of stroke or brain aneurysm, delayed treatment can result in massive brain damage that could have been prevented with timely intervention.

• Medication Errors and Drug Interactions: Incorrect dosing of blood thinners, failure to monitor anticoagulation therapy, or dangerous drug combinations can lead to intracranial bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke.

• Surgical Negligence During Brain Procedures: Improper technique during neurosurgery, failure to maintain sterile conditions leading to brain infections, or damage to healthy brain tissue during tumor removal constitutes clear violations of surgical standards of care.

• Post-Operative Monitoring Failures: Brain surgery patients require intensive monitoring for signs of increased intracranial pressure, bleeding, or infection. Failure to recognize and respond to these complications can result in preventable brain damage.

• Delayed Treatment of Head Trauma: Emergency departments that fail to properly evaluate head injuries, order appropriate imaging, or recognize signs of traumatic brain injury violate established protocols for trauma care.

• Anesthesia Complications: Inadequate oxygen delivery during surgery, failure to properly intubate, or medication reactions that cause brain hypoxia represent serious departures from anesthesia safety standards.

Our firm represents brain injury victims throughout Maine's federal healthcare system, where complex neurological conditions require the highest standards of medical care. We handle cases involving negligent care at major VA medical centers that provide comprehensive neurology and neurosurgery services, as well as military treatment facilities serving active-duty personnel and their families.

VA Maine Healthcare System - Togus: This major VA medical center provides neurological services to veterans throughout Maine, where failure to properly diagnose or treat brain conditions can result in catastrophic injuries.

Naval Health Clinic New England - Brunswick: Military personnel and families receive neurological care at this facility, where emergency response to head trauma and brain injuries must meet strict military medical standards.

Maine Military Family Life Counseling Centers: These facilities provide care where failure to recognize traumatic brain injury symptoms or refer for appropriate neurological evaluation can worsen existing brain injuries.

View all Maine VA & Military Facilities

• Delayed diagnosis despite clear neurological symptoms - headaches, confusion, vision changes, or weakness that were reported but not properly investigated
• Failure to order appropriate brain imaging when symptoms clearly warranted CT scans or MRI studies to rule out serious brain pathology
• Ignored abnormal test results showing signs of stroke, bleeding, or other brain emergencies that required immediate intervention
• Inadequate post-surgical monitoring after brain surgery, leading to unrecognized complications like bleeding or increased brain pressure
• Medication errors involving blood thinners, seizure medications, or other drugs that directly affect brain function and safety
• Emergency room discharge with head trauma symptoms without proper neurological evaluation or clear discharge instructions
• Failure to recognize stroke symptoms such as sudden weakness, speech difficulties, or facial drooping that required emergency treatment

Maine law allows brain injury victims to recover comprehensive economic damages without statutory caps in non-wrongful death cases. Recoverable economic losses include lifetime neurological rehabilitation costs, specialized brain injury treatment programs, cognitive therapy and speech therapy expenses, adaptive equipment and home modifications for brain-injured patients, lost earning capacity due to cognitive impairment, and ongoing medical monitoring and medication costs. Brain injury cases often involve millions of dollars in future medical expenses, as victims may require decades of specialized care and support services.

Brain injury victims can also pursue non-economic damages for the profound personal impact of their injuries. These damages include pain and suffering from cognitive impairment and physical symptoms, loss of enjoyment of life activities that cognitive deficits now prevent, emotional distress from personality changes and mental health impacts, and loss of consortium affecting relationships with spouses and family members. The life-altering nature of brain injuries often results in substantial non-economic damage awards.

Under Maine's wrongful death statute (§2-806 Title 18-C of the Maine Probate Code), pain and suffering damages are capped at $750,000 in fatal brain injury cases, with punitive damages limited to $250,000. However, Maine does not cap damages in non-fatal personal injury cases, allowing full recovery for both economic and non-economic losses. For FTCA claims, the damage amount requested in the Standard Form 95 becomes the maximum recoverable unless substantial changes in the claimant's condition can be proven, making careful calculation of damages critical at the outset of the claim.

Statute of Limitations: The Federal Tort Claims Act requires filing a Standard Form 95 within two years of the alleged malpractice event (28 C.F.R. § 14.2), which is more restrictive than Maine's three-year medical malpractice statute of limitations. Maine courts have interpreted the three-year deadline as a "statute of repose" that may not be extended by the discovery rule, making prompt action essential in brain injury cases where symptoms may develop gradually.

Expert Witness Requirements: FTCA brain injury claims are subject to the federal Daubert standard for expert witness admissibility, requiring medical experts to demonstrate reliable methodology and scientific basis for their opinions. Brain injury cases typically require neurological experts to establish the standard of care and prove how departures from that standard caused the patient's cognitive and physical impairments.

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

FTCA brain injury claims must be initiated by filing Standard Form 95 within two years of the alleged malpractice under federal law (28 C.F.R. § 14.2). This federal deadline is shorter than Maine's three-year medical malpractice statute and applies regardless of when brain injury symptoms were discovered.

Maine does not cap damages in non-fatal brain injury cases, allowing recovery of all economic losses (medical expenses, lost wages, future care costs) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, cognitive impairment impacts). Only wrongful death cases are subject to Maine's $750,000 pain and suffering cap under §2-806 Title 18-C.

Maine's damage caps only apply to wrongful death cases, not surviving brain injury victims. However, FTCA claims are limited to the amount requested in Form 95 unless substantial changes in condition can be proven, making initial damage calculations critical.

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 physicians at federal facilities. The claim is defended by the U.S. Attorney's Office rather than individual doctors.

FTCA brain injury cases require qualified medical experts who can establish the standard of neurological care and prove causation under the federal Daubert standard. Experts must demonstrate reliable scientific methodology, not just general medical knowledge.

FTCA brain injury cases typically take 2-4 years from Form 95 filing to resolution, depending on case complexity and the government's response. The government has six months to respond to Form 95, after which a federal lawsuit can be filed if the claim is denied.

Brain injury cases require specialized neurological expertise to prove standard of care violations and often involve complex damage calculations for lifetime cognitive impairment, making expert witness selection and damage documentation particularly critical.

Spouses and family members can recover loss of consortium damages for the impact of brain injury on their relationships, while parents or guardians may recover damages for a brain-injured child's future care needs and lost earning capacity.

When you or a loved one has suffered traumatic brain injuries, head trauma, and brain damage from medical negligence at a Maine 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 Brain Injury 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 Brain Injury cases.

• Maine FTCA Experience: We have successfully handled Federal Tort Claims Act cases involving Maine 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 Maine, with dedicated knowledge of federal medical malpractice law.

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

If you or a loved one suffered traumatic brain injuries, head trauma, and brain damage from medical negligence at a Maine 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 Maine Brain Injury victims. Our Maine Brain Injury 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 Maine 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.

Maine VA Malpractice Information

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

Other Maine Case Types We Handle

• Maine Surgical Errors Cases
• Maine Emergency Room Errors Cases
• Maine Spinal Cord Injury Cases

Brain Injury Resources

• Brain Injury Lawyers (Nationwide) - General Brain Injury 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

If you or a family member has suffered a brain injury due to medical care at a VA facility in Maine, understanding your rights under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is crucial. The FTCA allows veterans and their families to seek compensation when negligent medical care at VA facilities results in injury or death.

It's essential to know that the FTCA has strict deadlines. You must file your administrative claim within two years from when you knew or should have known about the injury and its cause. This is done using Standard Form 95. Once you file, the VA has six months to investigate and respond to your claim. If they deny your claim or fail to respond within six months, you then have six months to file a federal lawsuit.

Brain injury cases are particularly complex, which is why having an attorney with both medical and legal expertise is invaluable. A doctor-attorney can better understand the nuances of your medical records, identify deviations from the standard of care, and effectively communicate with medical experts. They can recognize subtle signs of brain injury that might be overlooked and understand how these injuries can impact your long-term health and daily life.

Through an FTCA claim, you may be able to recover various damages, including past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, and compensation for pain and suffering. For veterans with brain injuries, this might include costs for ongoing rehabilitation, cognitive therapy, medical equipment, home modifications, and long-term care needs. Family members may also be entitled to compensation for loss of companionship and support.

Don't wait to explore your legal options. Most experienced FTCA attorneys offer free case evaluations to veterans and their families. During this consultation, they can review your medical records, explain your rights, and help determine if you have a viable claim. Remember, these cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless your claim is successful.

Time is critical in these cases, both for preserving evidence and meeting FTCA deadlines. Contact a qualified FTCA attorney today to discuss your situation and learn how they can help protect your rights and secure the compensation you deserve.

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

• Maine Surgical Errors Cases
• Maine Emergency Room Errors Cases
• Maine Spinal Cord Injury Cases
• Maine Misdiagnosis Cases
• Maine Medication Errors Cases
• Maine Wrongful Death Cases