Entries Tagged 'Frequently Asked Questions' ↓

In creating the FTCA, Congress specifically limited its coverage to the United States and its territories. Therefore, claims which arise out of injuries occurring overseas, i.e., Germany, England, Korea, etc., are not covered by the FTCA. However, they are covered by a statute called the Military Claims Act.

The major difference between these statutes is that under the MCA the claimant has no right to sue the United States in court. It may be unfair, but it is the law.

The Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity is a vestige of the common law which the United States adopted when it was created. That doctrine states that a citizen cannot sue the government without the government’s permission. Prior to 1946, no citizen could sue the United States government for any injury caused by a government employee. In that year, however, Congress passed the FTCA which provided for the partial waiver of its sovereign immunity. It did not include claims arising overseas. To fill in this gap, Congress passed the Military Claims Act which has its own special rules – one of which is that no claim can be filed in a federal district court.

In 1950 the Supreme Court decided a case called Feres v. United States in which it ruled that active duty personnel injured “incident to service” cannot file claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Receiving treatment at government facilities has been deemed an activity “incident to service”.

Generally any person who has been injured as a result of medical negligence occurring in a United States government health care facility with the exception of active duty personnel can sue the U.S. government for medical malpractice. This includes military dependents, military retirees, and veterans.

Our military medical malpractice attorneys have handled cases in virtually every area of medicine including birth trauma, surgical errors, and “failure to diagnose” (e.g., cancer, meningitis, stroke, heart disease, epidural abscess, abdominal aortic aneurysm, etc). We pride ourselves on accepting challenging cases that other firms have turned away because of their complexity.

Please view the Military Medical Malpractice Legal Network website for more information about how to file a medical malpractice claim.

The major difference between these statutes is that under the MCA the claimant has no right to sue the United States in court.

The best way to insure a successful outcome is to hire an attorney experienced in handling FTCA cases. The FTCA has very specific requirements that must be met and you want to insure that your attorney has experience in dealing with this statute. In addition, knowing how the system works and who the players are can greatly enhance your receiving a recovery short of having to go to trial. If your case must go to trial, it will be tried in a federal district court. Your attorney therefore must have experience with federal procedure – something that is not common with all local lawyers. Finally, you pay no more for an experienced FTCA attorney since attorney fees are set by statue. Our FTCA attorneys have filed suit on behalf of FTCA clients in federal courts located in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington.

The Military Medical Malpractice Legal Network operates on a contingency fee basis. That means we get paid only if you recover. Should you obtain a recovery as a result of the claim, the law specifically designates how much the attorney can receive. That amount is 20% of the total recovery if a settlement is reached prior to filing a suit in federal court. If a recovery is obtained after suit is filed, attorney fees cannot exceed 25%. The costs incurred in prosecuting the claim will also be deducted from the final recovery. Our firm never requires payment of a “retainer fee”.