By Ben Krimmel
A federal judge has denied class-action status for a lawsuit filed on behalf of 592 veterans from Wisconsin.
U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled on April 25, the case filed against the U.S government by a group of vets who received dental care at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tomah, Wisconsin failed to satisfy all the criteria to merit class-action status, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
The Journal reports: In 2017, six veterans filed a lawsuit after nearly 600 vets were informed of possible exposure to blood-borne diseases, including HIV and hepatitis, due to improperly sterilized medical equipment by a VA dentist. Testing revealed none of the veterans contracted any disease, but the suit alleges the vets suffered emotional distress after being informed of the possible exposure.
While acknowledging the "general failure" of the VA and Dr. Thomas Schiller to meet their duty of care was not in question, Conley wrote the vet's claims of negligent infliction of emotional distress and negligent training, supervision, and retention of Dr. Schiller are questions not best served by a class-action status, The Journal reported.
Conley, who had previously dismissed the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, wrote that since the cause of damages must be determined on an individual basis, “a class action is not a superior method for resolving this dispute.” And if the case were to proceed as a class action, individual inquiries would cause "serious manageability problems."
The case is scheduled for a trial before in October, The Journal reported.
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