The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has admitted that it erroneously sent letters to at least 1,200 veterans informing them that they have been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gerhig’s disease).

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movements and causes rapid degeneration throughout the brain and spinal cord. The disease often results in death within several years of its diagnosis.

A VA spokesperson announced that out of 2,500 veterans who received letters explaining about VA disability benefits and health care for their ALS, at least 1,200 of them were sent the letter by mistake. Once it discovered the error, the VA sent letters of apology to those veterans and confirmed that they had not been actually diagnosed with ALS. However, after receiving the first letter, many skeptical veterans underwent painful and expensive diagnostic tests at their own expense to determine whether they actually had the fatal illness. The VA has agreed to reimburse these veterans for related out-of-pocket medical expenses.

The VA does not know exactly how many of the erroneous letters have actually been sent to veterans without formal diagnoses of ALS. VA officials have blamed the mistake on a “coding” error that caused the computer-generated letters to include as recipients VA patients that have undiagnosed neurological symptoms, in addition to those who have confirmed ALS diagnoses.

Although it is understandable that clerical mistakes can happen, especially in computerized bureaucracies, VetsFirst strongly believes that the VA must be more vigilant to prevent these kinds of errors. Veterans in fragile states of physical and mental health can be seriously affected such shocking news. Some could even be driven to suicide, rather than face a prolonged battle with a deadly disease that they don’t actually have.

Earlier this year, VetsFirst reported that the VA discovered that it had exposed more than 10,000 veterans to HIV, Hepatitis C and other serious diseases as the result of cross-contaminated medical equipment used during endoscopic procedures, including routine colonoscopies. The equipment had been improperly sterilized after use between patients. The exposures went undiscovered for almost five years!

More recently, the VA Medical Center in Philadelphia revealed that it had given at least 98 veteran cancer patients incorrect dosages of radiation therapy over a six-year period!

VetsFirst considers these kinds of errors to be unacceptable. When the lives and health of our nation’s veterans are at stake the VA cannot simply say “we goofed and we’re sorry”. It must implement measures to detect such errors immediately, strategies to prevent them from occurring in the first place and meaningful improved quality control in both its claims administration and health care delivery systems.

If you have received a VA ALS notification letter, we urge you to contact us immediately for assistance or to answer any questions that you may have. Simply go to our website, www.vetsfirst.org, and use the “Ask VetsFIrst” feature. One of our national service officers will respond directly to you.