InvestigateTV - Season 2; Episode 10

InvestigateTV - For decades, service members and their families were essentially barred from suing the military for medical malpractice. Congress cleared the way for claims to be filed, but Joce Sterman reveals the process is plagued by major delays and a disturbing lack of transparency. Next, in a joint investigation with ProPublica and the Texas Tribune, Andy Pierrotti exposes that soldiers in the U.S. Army accused of sexual assault are less likely to be detained ahead of trial than those accused of lesser offenses. Plus, we investigate allegations of harassment in the North Carolina National Guard. Finally, in Watching Your Wallet, Rachel DePompa talks to experts about ways you can work to keep inflation from draining your finances. WHERE TO WATCH ICYMI – Watch last week’s episode.

Military Malpractice: For decades, service members and their families were essentially barred from suing the military for medical malpractice. That all changed in 2019 when Congress cleared the way for claims to be filed for harm caused by military doctors. But the process has been plagued by major delays and a disturbing lack of transparency, leaving people dealing with life-changing injuries or the deaths of their loved ones without compensation months or YEARS after filing a claim. Our investigation uncovered stunning denial rates from some branches of service and a process cloaked in secrecy. We spoke with a Florida veteran who is still waiting for answers despite filing one of the first claims after his wife died following a misdiagnosis by her military doctors, as well the attorney credited with championing the law through Congress – she says NONE of the 100+ service members she represents have had their claims paid.

Military Justice: Soldiers accused of sexual assault are less likely to be held in jail while they await trial than those service members accused of more minor offenses such as marijuana possession. Our partners at ProPublica and the Texas Tribune analyzed nearly 8,400 courts-martial over the past decade. The findings: Service members accused of sexual assault are less than half as likely to be placed in pretrial confinement than those accused of other offenses like drug use and distribution, disobeying an officer or burglary. We speak with the mother of a soldier who was sexually assaulted by a man who was accused of assaulting multiple women – who was allowed to remain free while awaiting trial – staying two doors down from his victim. Plus – a former military prosecutor says this wouldn’t happen in the civilian court system.

National Guard Harassment: Two women allege harassment in the North Carolina National Guard after they say they were forced out - one for calling out a toxic workplace and the other for successfully appealing a decision from the promotion board. Nick Ochsner investigates.

Watching Your Wallet: Even as inflation slows down, we are all still paying way more for items than we did a year ago at this time. In this Watching Your Wallet Consumer Investigator Rachel DePompa is talking to experts about ways you can work to keep inflation from draining your wallet.