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By Investigative Journalist, Barry R. Clausen
November 17, 2014
NewsWithViews.com

With all the negative stories regarding the Veterans Administration (VA) I have written to numerous VA officials outlining the problems at the Mather VA. To this day I have never received a response. This letter to J. Thomas Burch Jr., is just one more that I do not expect a response to. By placing it on NewsWithViews and other sources, hopefully an honest VA official may respond and do an honest investigation. For those of you reading my story I ask you to please forward the story to your elected officials. It is my opinion that without help, the VA will continue on with its lies and misinformation.

From The Desk of Barry R. Clausen
Investigative Journalist, Author & Researcher
Cell (530) 227 4774 unfrend1@yahoo.com

November12, 2014

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of General Counsel (024)
AttentionJ. Thomas Burch, Jr.
810 Vermont Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20420

FOIA Appeal #15-00595-F

Dear Mr. Burch:

In reply to your two form letters dated October 29th&30th, 2014 I am requesting an appeal to your decision to deny my claim for VA documents in my Tort case. I find it more than interesting that my records are accessible to the VA employees I have complained about and I am not allow to have records pertaining to their response to my comlaint.

The Tort investigation was conducted by Attorney Chelsea Miller,Regional Counsel Department of Veterans Affairs, 4150 Clement Street, Bldg. 210 San Francisco, CA 94121. In my opinion is obviously seriously flawed or possibly an outright lie as any investigator needs to interview the witnesses and no one interviewed any of my witnesses.

In a long conversation with Miles Miyamoto the Acting Regional Counsel for Northern California he explained the Tort policy to me. While his explanation was very polite he explained that the “investigation” was not fully the responsibility of Miller. According to Miyamoto other doctors were consulted. His explanation still does not answer the questions I have pertinent to the so-called VA “investigation.”

What happened to the saying, “WE PUT VETERANS FIRST” or could my VA source be correct when I was told the flawed investigation is retaliation as a result of the negative yet factually accurate stories I have written about certain VA doctors? The VA’s Dirty Little Secret, Incompetent Doctor Care, VA Union Run VA Hospitals, VA Doctor Almost Killed Me, VA's Unethical Mental Health Actions and Veterans Administration Further Injures PTSD Veterans. It would be nice if I could write a positive story.

Millers Legal Assistant Karen Nishihama received $85,496 from a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco after she tripped and fell in a crosswalk maintained by the city. She did receive an injury in the fall. I should have used her attorney rather than rely on a VA attorney to actually investigate and find the truth. When I read this part of the letter to Nishihamashe was very unhappy that I used her name and emphasized the incident happened prior to her employment at the VA.

At one point in my life I was a law enforcement undercover agent for many years and a licensed Montana Private Investigator for eight (8) years. I know what an “investigation” is. I have found that when I talk with some VA officials I believe they have System Centered Tendencies and in my opinion they apparently are willing to do anything to protect the VA system and that leadership is only there to protect the VA and not the Veteran.

In addition to my situation, this month there wasthe death of Ronald Mayo a 65 year old Vietnam Veteran at Mather VA and currently there is a serious question regarding his death following heart surgery. The VA now admits that a "Do Not Resuscitate" armband was mistakenly placed on Mayo's wrist, but officials insist the error was caught quickly and it didn't contribute to his death.Family members claim the hospital would not return phone calls seeking a detailed explanation of Mayo’s death.

Earlier this summer another Veteran died and the youtube video shows his wife begging the Mather VA to help her husband. Eventually the Veteran died without any VA help.

Personally, I have serious physical injuries (artificial right knee & artificial right shoulder) as well as PTSD from my military time and this incompetent doctor (Digpal Chauhan) actually killed me as a result of his bungling misdiagnosis. If it was not for my wife administering CPR at home I would just be another Veteran a VA doctor killed. Therefore, I will continue with my intense desire to discover the truth, even if the case is deliberately part of an obvious cover-up by VA officials.

After several visits to Chauhan’s office I took my wife with me, Chauhan told both of us that he was a “lung expert.” When I questioned that statement he went on to say he was also a “brain expert” and Chauhan suggested that I had a mental problem and not physical difficulties.

I was treated for a cough for several months by Chauhan when I actually had blood clots in my lungs as well as heart failure. This resulted in my spending most of this last year in a wheel chair, a walker and on oxygen. Attorney Miller’s boss “Susanne Will the Deputy General Counsel for Legal Operations” sent me a letter stating that Chauhan did nothing wrong.

What is becoming transparent is the fact that VA employees are afraid to become whistleblowers against the VA and of the two (2) dozens VA patients I have interviewed for stories,none (0) want their name’s used for fear of retaliation. This fear by so many is making the VA seem to be a dictatorial regime ratherthan an open honest agency.

One of my witnesses is my wife Julie and another is a nurse employed with the Mather/McClellan VA and assigned to Chauhan’s MD's 'team' and patient panel from 06/2013-09/21/2014 provided the information pertaining to my complaint.

The nurse,Jana Thomas- Ortega is a witnesses to a consist pattern of medical malpractice, negligence, dangerous medical practices and immoral and unethical behavior & actions by Dr. Chauhan as well as Jane Addagatla the lead MD responsible for the MD's stationed at McClellan and who has had full knowledge of Chauhan's dangerous conduct but Addagatla has to date chosen to protect the MD; not the veterans.

Thomas- Ortega the VA nurse filed written complaints to: Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Congressman Jerry McNerney, Secretary of the VA Slone Gibson in June 2014 and so-far nothing has been done.

This nurse must protect the privacy of the additionally negatively affected veterans as well as staying within HIPPA guidelines however she is willing to do all that she can in order to supply you with documented cases of injuries Dr. Chauhan has inflicted upon other veterans such as myself. She is currently out on medical stress leave as once her Whistleblower status became known to the leadership at the Mather/McClellan VA she has been under attack and discrimination and was just placed out of work by her MD on 9/21/2014.

Thomas - Ortega,a Licensed Vocational Nurse inSacramento, CA.is a LVN assigned to Digpal Chauhan's Patient Aligned Care Team @ McClellan CBOC- Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

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My personal case is but one of many cases known to the courageous Whistleblower at this one VA facility. How many more are there across the United States who have been lied to, mistreated, misdiagnosed and/or ignored by VA practitioners (and their supervisors) that the VA (another federal agency) knows about but will not address honestly and openly? We may never know the extent to which this system-based government controlled agency and their leaders will go to preserve the illusion that they are working to serve America’s veterans and citizens. And after all, if we cannot trust those within our government to, at the very least tell us the truth, what do we have really?

� 2014 Barry R. Clausen - All Rights Reserved