Feres Doctrine

A big problem with military medical malpractice is that, strictly speaking, military servicemen can’t file a claim against the United States government. This rule stems from a court case in 1950, Feres v. United States. This court case was actually a combination of three different court cases where active duty servicemen, or their families, were filing suit against the government for personal injury or wrongful death.

The court decided that the US government was protected against Tort Liability claims from active duty servicemen, but did leave in some allowances, specifically, that their families could file claim if they were the injured party, and that the servicemen could file a claim on behalf of a family member that could not file themselves.

That being said, the Feres Doctrine is the main case cited when looking at why a claim from an active duty servicemen was denied. Claims that have to do with medical malpractice are handled by the Veteran’s Affairs office, but again, no claim can be filed.