After spearheading the first law ever to allow our active military to file a claim for military malpractice, we are actively taking military malpractice cases.
Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal served in 2d Battalion, 4th Marines. In Iraq in 2004 Richard had taken a bullet from a sniper. After recovering in 2006 Richard had decided join the U.S. Army as a Green Beret. While in training Richard began to notice he was having some respiratory issues, this was not from the enemy round that went into his chest, but from a misdiagnosis from Womack Army Medical Center who told him after a series of tests and scans he had pneumonia – it was not pneumonia, it was lung cancer!
On January 22, 2018 Richard was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, and is terminally ill.
Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal called dozens & dozens of attorneys all over the country to represent him but no one would help him. They all told him that they wouldn’t represent him because of the Feres Doctrine and that they wouldn’t represent him because they would have to fight the Department of Defense (DOD) and the law that would never change. Rich’s mom Kitty called many lawyers too, and got turned down because of Feres. Then one night she found an attorney named Natalie Khawam. Natalie was known for taking on challenging cases, and had a great track record for winning cases against the DOD, the VA and other giant Goliath like institutions. Kitty told Rich, and he called and spoke to Natalie Khawam. Rich expected Natalie to hang up or tell him he had no case, like everyone else, but in fact, Natalie was passionate and believed in his case and signed on to fight this injustice. Natalie told him they would have to change the law, which would require getting a Bill passed in Congress. Natalie passionately drafted the Bill, and suggested the Bill be named in Richard’s honor.
For the first time in over 70 years only ONE ATTORNEY was able to successfully challenge the Feres Doctrine and get a $440M Bill passed and signed into law, all under one year. The SFC Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act makes an exception to the Feres Doctrine which allows for any active duty person and their families to be compensated if they are the victim of medical malpractice.
Richard’s attorney, Natalie Khawam, Esq., stated, “We changed history!” Khawam, 44, went on to say, “It’s time that we fight for our military like they fought for us. The least we can do is provide them with proper medical care and the same standard of accountability that the rest of us enjoy.”
Natalie’s passion and patriotism for our Military has helped millions of our members and their families.
If you or someone you love has been a victim of malpractice while serving in the military, we would be honored to represent them and their family in their claim.