HAMPTON, Virginia

After the Hampton VA Medical Center denied responsibility, a Chesapeake veteran has sued the emergency-room doctor there who failed to diagnose a stroke that left him permanently disabled.

John Morgan, a Marine veteran, went to the Hampton center Nov. 23, 2008, complaining of slurred speech, unsteady gait and weakness on his left side - what government investigators later described as "classic stroke symptoms." He was discharged by the physician on duty, Dr. Razaak Eniola.

The next day, he went to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he was found to have suffered a stroke and was hospitalized for six days.

A subsequent investigation by the inspector general's office at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found the Hampton center at fault in the case. But when Morgan filed an administrative claim for compensation, the VA denied liability on the grounds that Eniola was a contract doctor, not a VA employee.

Eniola's contract was not renewed.

In the lawsuit, filed Monday in Hampton Circuit Court, Morgan alleges that Eniola's negligence caused a delay in treatment that resulted in avoidable, catastrophic injuries. He is seeking $2 million in damages.

Also named as defendants in the case are two companies that employed Eniola, National Emergency Services Inc. and NES Government Services Inc.

According to the Virginia Board of Medicine website, Eniola's primary practice is in Berlin, Md. He attended medical school at the University of Lagos in Nigeria.

Neither Eniola nor his employers responded to requests for comment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source URL (retrieved on 05/19/2010 - 13:38): http://hamptonroads.com/2010/05/man-sues-hampton-va-doctor-over-missed-stroke-symptoms