The family of a Vietnam-era veteran who died after his VA doctors allegedly failed to tell him that he had cancer has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the VA Boston Healthcare System.
Natick man William “Joey” Howard, 74, died from lung cancer and esophageal cancer in May of 2023 — a “premature and preventable death” after his VA doctors reportedly didn’t tell him about his positive cancer results for nearly a year.
Howard’s early localized lung cancer in October 2021 grew and spread throughout the next year, resulting in metastatic disease. Howard also developed a local esophageal cancer during the same time period.
Meanwhile, VA staff didn’t inform Howard of his lung cancer diagnosis, leading to a major delay in treatment, according to the wrongful death suit. That lengthy delay led to his death, according to his family’s federal lawsuit against the VA.
“Like any patient in any healthcare setting expects, our veterans should be able to expect they will receive good and proper, high quality, medical care and treatment from their doctors at the Veterans Administration,” said the family’s lawyer Adam R. Satin, of Lubin & Meyer, PC. “It’s the least our government can do for those who served and sacrificed for this country.
“Tragically, William Howard received the polar opposite from his doctors at the VA,” the attorney added. “This veteran died because his doctors negligently failed to make a simple phone call and just tell him that they had found cancer on a test he’d had.”
Howard, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, serving during the Vietnam War era, worked as a handyman for many years in Natick and the surrounding areas.
The grandfather, who previously lived in Roslindale, died of esophageal adenocarcinoma in the setting of metastatic lung cancer on May 26, 2023. His smoking history included half a pack per day since he was a teenager.
“Mr. Howard suffered a significant 11-month delay in treatment of lung cancer, and delay in the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer, leading to his premature and preventable death as a direct result of the substandard care and treatment rendered to him by VA Boston Healthcare providers,” the lawsuit reads.
The suit is being brought against the VA staff in West Roxbury.
“They knew he had cancer, but he didn’t know it because they failed to tell him,” the family’s lawyer said. “If they had just told him about it, the tragic pain and suffering and death that unfolded from that point forward would have been avoided. Mr. Howard deserved better from his doctors and the government to which he entrusted his healthcare.”
According to the suit, Howard in September of 2021 was admitted to the Boston VA Hospital with complaints of shortness of breath. He underwent a series of tests, and a doctor found that Howard had “multiple abnormalities… concerning for malignancy.”
A follow-up biopsy revealed that he was positive for malignant cells, consistent with non-small cell carcinoma. The doctors, however, failed to tell Howard about the lung cancer results — and didn’t ensure that he was referred to oncology, according to the lawsuit.
A year later, Howard went to the VA emergency department with complaints of chronic pain, shortness of breath, leg swelling, and generalized weakness. He had been suffering from leg swelling with oozing, and could barely walk without shortness of breath and had been sleeping on his side for relief.
The cell carcinoma had increased in size and spread, and he had developed a local esophageal cancer, according to tests.
VA staff later held an “institutional disclosure of an adverse event” conference with Howard and his sons, according to the lawsuit.
The staff reportedly apologized to Howard and his family for the communication issues leading to the delay of his lung cancer treatment. The VA offered expedited consultations, arrangements for second opinions, and said an institutional investigation was underway.
“The prognosis of a patient diagnosed with lung and/or esophageal cancer largely depends upon the extent of the disease at the time of diagnosis,” the lawsuit reads. “If detected and diagnosed at an early stage, lung and esophageal cancers are treatable and amenable to cure.
“However, if the cancers are not diagnosed and treated for a significant period, and allowed to grow and spread, the patient’s cancer becomes more difficult or impossible to surgically remove, the treatment options become more aggressive, the patient has an overall worsened prognosis, decreased chance of long-term survival, and more likely than not, will suffer a premature and preventable death, as in the case of William Howard,” the suit states.
Howard’s family filed the lawsuit in federal court earlier this month.
Winfield Danielson, VA Boston Healthcare System’s public affairs officer, said in a statement, “While we cannot discuss pending legal matters, we would like to share that our thoughts are with the Veteran’s family, and everyone touched by this tragic loss.”
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