VA Finally Schedules Vet's Appointment – Two Years After His Death

ACTON, MASS. — The Veterans Affairs Department is apologizing to a Massachusetts woman for offering an appointment to her husband almost two years after he died.

Suzanne Chase, of Acton, tells WBZ-TV her Vietnam veteran husband, Doug, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011.

In 2012, she tried to move his medical care to the VA hospital in Bedford. They waited four months and never heard anything. He died in August 2012.

Suzanne Chase says two weeks ago she got a letter addressed to her husband, saying he could call to make an appointment.

She says the VA had to know her husband was dead because she applied for funeral benefits and was denied.

The department said in a statement: “We regret any distress our actions caused to the veteran’s widow and family.”