FERES vs United States

Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:03 pm

Simply Put, the "Feres Doctrine" only applies to "Active-Duty" Men and Women of the U.S. Armed Forces who suffer "injury" or "death" due to the "negligence" of other Members of the Armed Forces.
In a nutshell, it gives the Government sovereign immunity. It can't be sued for things a civilian/civilian owned company can be sued for.

For example, Under FERES, in cases of Medical Negligence , Malpractice, wrongful death, the physician is protected, because under FERES, the death was "incident to Service."

One of the purposes of the Act was to transfer from Congress to the courts the burden of examining tort claims against the Government; and Congress was not burdened with private bills on behalf of military and naval personnel, because a comprehensive system of relief had been authorized by statute for them and their dependents.

The Act confers on the district courts broad jurisdiction over "civil actions on claims against the United States, for money damages"; but it remains for the courts to determine whether any claim is recognizable in law.

The Jefferson case: Plaintiff, while in the Army, was required to undergo an abdominal operation. About eight months later, in the course of another operation after plaintiff was discharged, a towel 30 inches long by 18 inches wide, marked "Medical Department U.S. Army," was discovered and removed from his stomach. The complaint alleged that it was negligently left there by the army surgeon. The District Court, being doubtful of the law, refused without prejudice the Government's pretrial motion to dismiss the complaint.2 After trial, finding negligence as a fact, Judge Chesnut carefully reexamined the issue of law and concluded that the Act does not charge the United States with liability in this type of case.3 The Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, affirmed.4

I know from experience, that a military Dr. can be charged with Negligent Homicide, for the death of a service member, and he is protected from being sued as an individual M.D., or a government employee. Even when all patient case files show a high percentage of errors in judgment, by the Dr. AND, while the Dr. was charged with Negligent Homicide per Special Agent investigations, the doctors commander chose NOT to give disciplinary action. So, basically, the Dr. can be a complete idiot, impair and or kill patients, and he gets off scot free. BTW, they are still allowed to practice medicine.
In the military, a Dr. does not have to obtain a medical license from the state he is stationed in. he can have a medical license from California, yet legally practice medicine in South Carolina. Reason being, he is practicing medicine on a Federal Installation. Should he resign from the military, and decide to open a civilian practice in S. Carolina, he would then have to obtain a license. ALSO, negative information regarding military doctors will not be found should you look them up on the State Medical Board site.

Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the United States is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries to members of the armed forces sustained while on active duty and not on furlough and resulting from the negligence of others in the armed forces. The opinion is an extension of the English common-law concept of sovereign immunity.

The practical effect is that the Feres doctrine effectively bars service members from successfully collecting damages for personal injuries, whether or not they were suffered in the performance of their duties. It also bars families of service members from filing wrongful death or loss of consortium actions when a service member is killed or injured. The bar does not extend to killed or injured family members, so a spouse or child may still sue the United States for tort claims (such as medical malpractice), nor does it bar service members from filing either in loco parents on their child's behalf or filing for wrongful death or loss of consortium as a companion claim to a spouse or child's suit.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:07 pm

Quote:

I know from experience, that a military Dr. can be charged with Negligent Homicide, for the death of a service member, and he is protected from being sued as an individual M.D., or a government employee. Even when all patient case files show a high percentage of errors in judgment, by the Dr. AND, while the Dr. was charged with Negligent Homicide per Special Agent investigations, the doctors commander chose NOT to give disciplinary action. So, basically, the Dr. can be a complete idiot, impair and or kill patients, and he gets off scot free. BTW, they are still allowed to practice medicine.
In the military, a Dr. does not have to obtain a medical license from the state he is stationed in. he can have a medical license from California, yet legally practice medicine in South Carolina. Reason being, he is practicing medicine on a Federal Installation. Should he resign from the military, and decide to open a civilian practice in S. Carolina, he would then have to obtain a license. ALSO, negative information regarding military doctors will not be found should you look them up on the State Medical Board site.

woopycat3 this is good information!

For those members backgrounding a physician this is important information to consider.

watchman

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:47 am

I got the information about licensing from an Air Force attorney at the Pentagon. The same rule applies to an attorney. They are not required to take the bar in every state they are stationed in. They can if they choose, but it's not a requirement. This is a way for them as well as doctors to avoid the extra fees of multiple state licensing. Should they leave the military, and want to set up practice in the state they were stationed in, they would have to take the Bar Exam.