COLUMBIA, S.C. — A U.S. Navy veteran is suing a hospital that he says misdiagnosed him as being a cocaine addict instead of suffering from gallbladder and pancreas disease.

The State newspaper in Columbia reports Eric Walker has sued Dorn Veterans Hospital in Columbia for its treatment of him when he went to the emergency room in May 2015 with severe abdominal pain.

The lawsuit filed in December says Walker’s urine sample was switched with that of another patient. It says Dorn discharged Walker and offered him pamphlets about treatment of substance abuse.

Attorney Todd Lyle says the 47-year-old Walker was treated several days later at Lexington Medical Center Hospital.

play_circle_filled VA publicly posts opioid prescription rates for all facilities The move makes the veterans' health system the first in the nation to share information on how frequently the problematic medications are dispensed.

Walker is seeking unspecified damages.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Columbia likely will represent Dorn and the Veterans Administration. It declined comment.

Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com

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