Veteran Dies After Surgery by Iowa City VA Doctor Previously Sued for Malpractice POSTED 10:44 PM, DECEMBER 5, 2017, BY STAFF WRITER, UPDATED AT 10:45PM,
Iowa Veteran Dies After Surgery Performed by Doctor Previously Sued for Malpractice, Hired by Iowa City VA > IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Iowa City VA is accused of breaking federal law, and an Iowa family says it cost them their father and grandfather. Most hospitals wouldn’t hire a doctor who
had been sued a dozen times for malpractice and had his license revoked in another state, but as WQAD’s Chris Minor found, this was not the case in Iowa City.
Rick Hopkins was a loving dad and grandfather. Spry at age 65, he loved his job at a local dairy farm. Rick was an animal lover, and the feeling was mutual.
“There was not an animal that dad ever met that just didn’t adore him,” said Amy McIntire, Rick’s daughter.
Rick was also an Army veteran. Diagnosed with a brain tumor in July, he underwent brain surgery at the Veterans Hospital in Iowa City.
“There was just a cascade of complications, I mean we couldn’t catch our breath because it was one thing after another,” said Amy.
After four brain surgeries in four weeks due to complications at the VA, Rick died.
“We had so much trust in them.”
That trust is now shattered. Rick’s surgery was performed by Dr. John Schneider, a doctor who had racked up at least a dozen malpractice claims over the past 15 years. According to a USA Today report, the VA in Iowa City hired Dr. Schneider, knowing his license had been revoked in Wyoming.
“Now that I read this report, I feel just betrayed,” Amy said.
Federal law bars the VA from hiring doctors whose license has been barred in any state, but Schneider was hired anyway. Amy, a nurse, can’t believe it.