A US district court judge has awarded an Air Force couple $7.5 million for a malpractice case against the family clinic at Andersen AFB, Guam. The island’s Pacific Daily News reported Aug. 22 that Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood granted the sum to Deborah Rutledge and her husband, MSgt. Thomas Rutledge, after agreeing that government employees at the clinic “were repeatedly negligent” in providing medical treatment to Deborah Rutledge. She suffers from Cauda Aquina Syndrome, a serious neurological disorder that base medical personnel failed to properly diagnose and treat during visits in July and August 2004, the judge ruled.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi met U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Jan. 15 as the two nations look to further solidify their ties in the face of growing Chinese and North Korean threats.
