Richard S. Milbauer v. United States

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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 15-11053
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 2:11-cv-00149-SPC-DNF
RICHARD S. MILBAUER,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant-Appellee.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
________________________
(January 29, 2016)
Before TJOFLAT, JILL PRYOR and FAY, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Richard S. Milbauer appeals pro se for the second time dismissal of his
complaint alleging medical malpractice against the United States, because of the
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diagnosis and treatment of an injury to his right shoulder by the Department of
Veterans Affairs (“VA”). We affirm.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In September 2005, Milbauer sought treatment at the VA medical center in
Brooklyn, New York (“Brooklyn VA”), after injuring his right shoulder in a work-
related accident at a construction site. Doctors recommended Milbauer receive an
MRI to diagnose his injury. Milbauer explained he was claustrophobic and needed
an open MRI, which would not require him to be enclosed in a tube. The Brooklyn
VA did not have an open MRI machine, so Milbauer requested authorization to
receive an open MRI at an outside facility. Ten months later, in July 2006,
Milbauer received an open MRI, which revealed he had a severely torn rotator
cuff. Milbauer underwent surgery to repair the tear, but the surgery was
unsuccessful, because the damage was too severe. At no point during his treatment
did any of the medical staff at the Brooklyn VA recommend or perform alternative
diagnostic procedures for Milbauer’s shoulder injury.
Milbauer filed an administrative claim with the VA under the Federal Tort
Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671-2680, in which he alleged the
Brooklyn VA had failed to provide an open MRI of his right shoulder in a timely
manner. He contended the ten-month delay in receiving a MRI caused him
constant pain and limited use of his right arm; his shoulder could have been
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repaired, if he had received the MRI within 30 days of his injury. The VA denied
Milbauer’s claim.
Thereafter, Milbauer filed a complaint in federal district court and alleged
medical malpractice claims against the United States under the FTCA. In his
complaint, Milbauer recounted the treatment he received at the Brooklyn VA, the
difficulties he had experienced in obtaining authorization for the open MRI, and
the failure of the Brooklyn VA medical staff to offer him any alternative diagnostic
procedures for his injury. He alleged the Brooklyn VA medical staff deviated from
appropriate standards of care by (1) failing to take reasonable steps to diagnose his
rotator-cuff injury in a timely manner with an outside MRI, (2) waiting for ten
months to prepare the necessary paperwork to authorize the outside MRI, and
(3) committing other negligent acts or omissions.
The government moved to dismiss Milbauer’s complaint for lack of subject
matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1). The
government contended Milbauer’s FTCA claims were barred by the Veterans
Judicial Review Act (“VJRA”), 38 U.S.C. § 511(a)VJRA, which deprives the
federal district courts of subject matter jurisdiction over claims regarding benefits
to veterans by the VA. Although Milbauer framed his claim as medical
malpractice, the government argued it was in substance a claim concerning the
delay in his receipt of a veteran’s benefit, or authorization to have the VA pay for
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an open MRI at an outside facility. The government further contended Milbauer
had failed to exhaust administratively his claim, and the Brooklyn VA medical
staff should have offered him alternative-diagnostic procedures.
Milbauer responded his claims were not barred by the VJRA, because he
sought damages caused by negligence of the Brooklyn VA, not denial of benefits.
Milbauer argued he had exhausted his alternative-diagnostic-procedures claim,
because, under Burchfield v. United States, 168 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir. 1999), he was
not required to provide the VA with every possible theory of recovery. Instead, he
merely had to provide enough information for the VA to begin its own
investigation, and the VA investigation should have revealed his alternative-
diagnostic-procedures claim. Milbauer also asserted the VA should have followed
its own policy, VA New York Harbor Healthcare System Policy No. 11-41,
requiring doctors to exhaust alternative imaging tests of equal effectiveness before
ordering an outside MRI.
The district judge granted the government’s motion to dismiss and dismissed
Milbauer’s complaint without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The
judge first concluded Milbauer had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies
regarding his alternative-diagnostic-procedures claim, because his administrative
complaint did not mention that claim. Second, the judge concluded she lacked
jurisdiction under the VJRA to review Milbauer’s delayed MRI claim, since the
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crux of his claim was that he did not receive timely an outside MRI, which was a
grievance with the VA procedure for providing that benefit, not with the medical
treatment he had received.
Milbauer appealed; we affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded.
Milbauer v. United States, 587 F. App’x 587, 588 (11th Cir. 2014) (“Milbauer I”).
We concluded Milbauer’s delayed MRI claim was a benefits issue “because
Milbauer sought a particular benefit—to have the VA pay for an open MRI
performed at a non-VA facility—and he complained the process of obtaining that
benefit caused the delay in his diagnosis.” Id. at 591. The district judge also could
not have adjudicated Milbauer’s claim without first determining whether he was
entitled to have an outside MRI and whether the Brooklyn VA properly followed
its policy in processing his request. Id. at 591-92. Therefore, the VJRA barred
review of Milbauer’s delayed MRI claim. Id. at 592.
We vacated regarding Milbauer’s alternative-diagnostic-procedures claim,
because the district judge did not analyze whether Milbauer’s administrative
complaint “provided sufficient information under Burchfield to overcome the
FTCA’s bar to unexhausted claims.” Id. at 592. We remanded “for the district
judge to analyze, in light of Burchfield, whether Milbauer exhausted his
alternative-diagnostic-procedures claim, and if so, whether the VJRA precludes
review of that claim.” Id.
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On remand, the district judge concluded Milbauer had exhausted his
alternative-diagnostic-procedures claim under Burchfield, because he had provided
sufficient information in his administrative claim for the VA investigators to at
least inquire whether his physicians had considered any alternative-diagnostic
tests. Because his alternative-diagnostic-procedures claim was closely related to
his delayed MRI claim, that issue would have surfaced during the VA
investigation. Although Milbauer’s claim survived the exhaustion requirement,
the judge determined she lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the alternative-
diagnostic-procedures claim for the same reasons she lacked jurisdiction over his
delayed MRI claim. In essence, Milbauer claimed he should have received
alternative diagnostic procedures, which was a benefits claim. Like his delayed
MRI claim, Milbauer had sought a particular benefit and complained the process of
obtaining that benefit caused the delay in his diagnosis. Consequently, his
grievance was not with the treatment he received, but with the VA benefits
procedure. Finally, the judge noted Milbauer’s reliance on the VA internal policy
was unavailing, since the judge would have to interpret the policy language to
analyze the merits of his argument, which the VJRA prohibits. The judge again
granted the government’s motion to dismiss.
In this second appeal, Milbauer argues the district judge erred in concluding
the VJRA precluded judicial review of his alternative-diagnostic-procedures claim.
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He contends his claim is the VA failed to inform him of the availability of
alternative-diagnostic procedures, which constituted medical malpractice. He
argues review of his claim would not require the district judge to determine
whether he was entitled to any benefits; instead, it would require the judge
determine only whether the VA had a duty to inform him of the availability of
alternative procedures.
II. DISCUSSION
We review de novo the dismissal of a complaint for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction. Motta ex rel. A.M. v. United States, 717 F.3d 840, 843 (11th Cir.
2013). The VJRA provides the decision of the Secretary concerning any
“questions of law and fact necessary to a decision by the Secretary under a law that
affects the provision of benefits . . . shall be final and conclusive and may not be
reviewed by any other official or by any court, whether by an action in the nature
of mandamus or otherwise.” 38 U.S.C. § 511(a). “Benefit” means “any payment,
service, commodity, function, or status, entitlement to which is determined under
laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs pertaining to veterans
and their dependents and survivors.” 38 C.F.R. § 20.3(e).
The VJRA does not completely eliminate judicial review of benefits
decisions, instead determinations of the Secretary may be appealed to the Board of
Veterans’ Appeals (“Board”), whose decision becomes the final decision of the
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Secretary. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a). Decisions of the Board then may be reviewed
exclusively by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, an Article I court
established by the VJRA. Id. §§ 7251, 7252(a), 7266(a). Decisions of the Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims are in turn appealable to the Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit. Id. § 7292(a), (c). A decision by the Federal Circuit is subject to
certiorari review by the Supreme Court. Id. § 7292(c). Pursuant to the VJRA,
“judicial review of a particular application of the law made by the Secretary with
respect to a veteran’s entitlement to benefits may be had only by appealing to the
Board, then to the Court of Veterans Appeals, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
and the Supreme Court.” Hall v. U.S. Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, 85 F.3d 532, 534
(11th Cir. 1996).
In Hall, a veteran filed a complaint in district court after receiving
notification his disability benefits had been reduced in accordance with 38 C.F.R.
§ 3.665, which requires disability compensation be diminished during periods of
incarceration for certain felony convictions. Id. at 532-33. The veteran alleged the
reduction in his disability benefits constituted a tort and violated numerous
constitutional provisions; he specifically requested the district judge find 38 C.F.R.
§ 3.665 violated the Constitution. Id. at 533. The judge dismissed the complaint
sua sponte for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the VJRA. Id. On appeal,
we held the district judge lacked jurisdiction to determine the constitutionality of
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§ 3.665, because the VJRA precluded judicial review of the Secretary’s decisions
involving the interpretation or application of a regulation governing veterans’
benefits. Id. at 534-35. We held a plaintiff may not circumvent the VJRA’s
jurisdictional limitations by alleging a benefits claim in constitutional terms. See
id.
In Milbauer I, we applied a test established by the D.C. Circuit. See
Milbauer I, 587 F. App’x at 590-92. In Thomas v. Principi, 394 F.3d 970 (D.C.
Cir. 2005), a veteran filed suit in district court and alleged the VA had committed
medical malpractice under the FTCA and caused him intentional emotional distress
by failing to inform him of his “working diagnosis of schizophrenia.” Id. at 972.
The D.C. Circuit held the VJRA did not preclude review of those claims, because
the district judge could adjudicate them “without determining first whether
Thomas was entitled to a certain level of benefits.” Id. at 974 (internal quotation
marks and alteration omitted). The D.C. Circuit further explained: “Because none
of these claims alleges that the VA failed to pay for treatment (or even to provide
for treatment), they raise no ‘questions of law or fact necessary to a decision by the
Secretary under a law that affects the provision of benefits.’” Id. (quoting 38
U.S.C. § 511) (alteration omitted).
The D.C. Circuit noted, however, the VJRA did bar Thomas’s claims that
the VA had failed to render appropriate medical services, and the VA’s persistent
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denial of necessary medical treatment caused him severe emotional distress. Id. at
975. Adjudication of those claims would have required “the district court to
determine first whether the VA acted properly in handling Thomas’s benefits
request.” Id. at 974 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Therefore, the
D.C. Circuit concluded the district judge lacked jurisdiction over those claims. Id.
at 975.
In this appeal, Milbauer asserts the doctors at the Brooklyn VA failed to
inform him of the availability of alternative-diagnostic procedures and contends
this claim is analogous to the claim in Thomas, where the VA failed to inform
Thomas of his working diagnosis of schizophrenia. Although Milbauer attempts to
recast his claim on appeal as relating solely to the failure of the VA to inform him
alternative procedures were available, his claim relates to the VA’s failure to
perform such procedures. In district court, Milbauer argued doctors at the
Brooklyn VA could and should have performed alternative procedures to diagnose
his shoulder injury, when it became clear he was experiencing difficulty obtaining
an outside MRI. He further continues to assert on appeal, if alternative-diagnostic
procedures had been employed, his injury would have been diagnosed sooner,
which would have resulted in a better outcome.
Like his delayed MRI claim in Milbauer I, the VJRA bars judicial review of
Milbauer’s alternative-diagnostic-procedures claim, because it is a benefits issue.
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Milbauer contends the VA was obligated to provide him with a particular benefit,
an alternative procedure to diagnose his shoulder injury, and failure of the VA to
provide that benefit caused the delay in his diagnosis. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.3(e);
Milbauer I, 587 F. App’x at 591. To resolve his claim, the judge first would have
to determine whether Milbauer was entitled to a certain level of benefits, the
performance of diagnostic procedures for his shoulder injury. See Thomas 394
F.3d at 974. Under the Brooklyn VA internal policy, doctors are required to
consider and perform alternative procedures of equal effectiveness before
authorizing procedures at an outside facility. Consequently, resolution of
Milbauer’s claim would require the district judge to determine whether the
Brooklyn VA properly followed its own policy in authorizing Milbauer’s outside
MRI. See Thomas, 394 F.3d at 975. We conclude the district judge correctly
determined she lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Milbauer’s alternative-
diagnostic-procedures claim.
AFFIRMED.
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