CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – Attorney Tony O’Dell is now representing five families of veterans who died under suspicious circumstances. John Hallman, 87, died on floor 3-A in June of 2018 after insulin injections he was ordered to have.
O’Dell stresses Hallman’s death has not been ruled a homicide, but it happened on the same floor during the same time period and under similar circumstances. Those conditions are nearly identical to the deaths of George Shaw and Felix McDermott.
The deaths of Felix McDermott and George Shaw at the Louis A. Johnson VA Hospital have been ruled homicides.
“We don’t know whether this is just an unbelievably incompetent person, which is hard to believe, or if someone is doing this willfully to people who have served our country,” said Tony O’Dell, a Charleston lawyer who is representing McDermott’s family, recently on “Talkline.”
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin has promised a full investigation into the matter.
U.S. Senator Shelly Moore-Capito spoke directly to Department of Veteran’s Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie.
“I told him the VA has had issue after issue of incompetence and questionable reaction to dire situations,” Capito said. “The secretary is trying to move this as quickly as he can but it hasn’t been satisfactory. I’m sure we’ll have a (congressional) hearing on this as soon as we go back.”
Jeff Jenkins contributed to this article.