The federal government wants, and has the legal right to, nearly $800,000 more from two Casper doctors who were found negligent in a recent federal medical malpractice case involving a former soldier, according to government attorneys.

The federal government joined the case of former U.S. Army Sgt. Edward Poche, who in 2007 sued Drs. Raoul Joubran, Mary MacGuire and James Anderson for about $3 million in damages from malpractice after a series of surgeries in 2005. The malpractice ended Poche's 20-year military career as a diesel mechanic, left him unable to bend or twist or lift more than 10 pounds, and disrupted his family life, according to his attorney Steven Shapiro.

After his experiences in Casper, Poche was transferred to the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. The government paid $1,128,307 for medical and convalescent care; and also paid Poche $49,166 in wages during that time.

After a four-week trial ending April 3, a jury in federal court in Cheyenne found Joubran 60 percent negligent and MacGuire 40 percent negligent. Anderson was not found to be negligent.

The jury awarded Poche and his wife about $1.6 million for economic and noneconomic - "pain and suffering" - damages, and awarded the government $380,000.

Read Friday's Star-Tribune for more of this story.