Baldwin Successfully Pushes VA to Reexamine & Pay Earned Benefits to 600 Veterans After Doctor Misdiagnosed Conditions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After more than a year and a half of advocating on behalf of Wisconsin veterans, Senator Tammy Baldwin successfully pushed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to identify and reexamine approximately 600 veterans whose neurological conditions were misdiagnosed by a doctor at the Tomah VA Medical Center. As a result of the misdiagnoses, these veterans had been denied proper benefits, compensation, and treatment. The VA will now work to complete reexaminations and grant equitable relief for impacted veterans. The doctor responsible for the misdiagnosis, Dr. Mary Jo Lanska, MD, has been terminated from the Tomah VA.

Since 2021, Senator Baldwin has been working with multiple Wisconsin veterans who reported that their traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and other conditions were misdiagnosed by Dr. Lanska. Senator Baldwin had been calling on the VA to investigate the pattern of misdiagnoses, ensure misdiagnosed veterans get a new exam, and get the veterans the proper compensation and benefits they are deserved.

After Senator Baldwin successfully pushed the VA to review all of the compensation and pension exams that were done by Dr. Lanska and reach out to impacted veterans, the VA announced today that they identified approximately 600 veterans who received an exam from Dr. Lanska that they plan to order reexaminations of and grant equitable relief.

“Our veterans served us and we have an obligation to serve them when they come back home. Unfortunately, many of our Wisconsin heroes did not get the care at the VA that they deserved," said Senator Baldwin. “I am glad to see that after years of working alongside some of our veterans, hundreds of Wisconsinites who have been wronged by the VA will be getting the care and benefits that they earned.”

In a March meeting, Senator Baldwin pressed VA Secretary Denis McDonough to investigate the pattern of misdiagnosis and shared the Wisconsin veterans’ concerns. In August 2022, Senators Baldwin and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) sent a letter to Secretary McDonough highlighting their concerns about TBI misdiagnosis at the Tomah VA and pushing for answers about the process for veterans who may have been improperly diagnosed and not receiving the benefits they deserve. After hearing from additional veterans, in September 2022, Senator Baldwin called on the VA to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the practices of this doctor to determine whether there is a broader pattern of her misdiagnosing patients’ neurological disorders that are preventing veterans from receiving care or benefits they earned.

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