$1.38 Million Verdict for Widow of Army Veteran Killed by Contraindicated Drug Combination at Togus VA

Roy Palmer, a 69-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Buxton, Maine, was admitted to the Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta on April 6, 2020, reporting abdominal pain. Over the days that followed, VA physicians prescribed him hydromorphone, a potent opioid, alongside oxazepam, a benzodiazepine. Both drugs carry FDA black-box warnings specifically cautioning against co-administration because the combination can suppress respiration to fatal levels.

On April 30, 2020, Palmer went into respiratory-driven cardiac arrest. The resulting oxygen deprivation caused brain damage, and he died that day. He had been hospitalized for less than a month. His wife, Janet Palmer, survived him.

Janet Palmer brought a wrongful-death and survival action against the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Before trial, the government conceded the central liability question: court documents reflect its acknowledgment that it "was negligent in its care and treatment of Mr. Palmer." The case proceeded to a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann solely on the question of damages.

Travis Brennan of Berman and Simmons represented Janet Palmer. At trial, the court heard evidence that Roy Palmer spent approximately 13 days experiencing conscious pain and severe symptoms before his death, including distress during intubation. The judge credited testimony placing his economic contributions to the household across an estimated 11 additional years of life expectancy.

Judge Neumann entered judgment for $1,380,414.82. The award included $175,000 to Palmer's estate for conscious pain and suffering, roughly $450,000 in economic losses, and $750,000 to Janet Palmer for loss of companionship. The court noted that $750,000 represented the statutory cap on companionship damages applicable to deaths that occurred before a 2023 legislative increase raised the ceiling to $1 million.