NC Green Beret, whose botched care changed federal law, invited to attend State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Sitting inside the House chamber, Sgt. 1st Class Richard Stayskal took it all in.
The North Carolina Purple Heart Green Beret's story of botched medical care led to a bipartisan bill that turned into a new federal law. Fourteen months after he first told his story to FOX 46, Stayskal was invited by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-Concord) to attend the State of the Union on Tuesday.
"At first I was wondering if he had the right person," Stayskal said. "It was just crazy. I was blown away for him to think of me."
Stayskal was joined by his wife, Megan, and attorney, Natalie Khawam, who pushed lawmakers to allow active-duty service members the right to hold bad military doctors accountable.
In 2017, doctors at Womack Army Medical Center misdiagnosed Stayskal's cancer as pneumonia. The lack of treatment allowed his cancer, now stage 4, time to spread. He says the treatment he is receiving is "showing some decent results."
"It's going great right now," he said when asked about his health. "They [the doctors] sound really hopeful and that's good news for me."
Because of a 1950 Supreme Court ruling, known as the Feres Doctrine, Stayskal is prevented from suing the government for medical malpractice. Hudson, who credits a yearlong series of FOX 46 investigations for getting results, co-sponsored a bipartisan bill, that is now law, which gives active duty military the right to be compensated by the government for negligent medical care at military facilities.
"It's just an amazing feeling, you know?," said Stayskal. "It's awesome to know that, you know, the men and women in the military are now one step closer to just the same rights as everybody else. That's all we really want."
"When you meet Rich and you hear his story, and you see the pain in his wife's eyes when he tells you the story, it really gets in your heart," said Hudson, who says the malpractice law would not have passed without lawmakers hearing Stayskal's story.
"And, Matt, you know what I'm talking about because you've been such a champion for this as well," Hudson told FOX 46 investigative reporter Matt Grant. "We were all moved by Rich and Megan and their story. And I do believe him putting a face on it is what helped us get it over the top."
Hudson says the new law "may be the biggest accomplishment of my career."
As FOX 46 has documented, Stayskal has been a regular on Capitol Hill for more than a year. He has met with dozens of lawmakers to lobby for change.
Now, he is here to celebrate.
"It's a part of history and I'm just so happy to be here," said Stayskal. "I can't stay enough to the Congressman for inviting me. It's just an amazing moment in my life."
The Department of Defense has until June to come up with a plan to implement the new landmark law. For the first time, Congress allocated $400 million to DoD to investigate and pay out military medical malpractice claims.