What is the Feres Doctrine? Can Active Duty Military Sue for Medical Malpractice?
IMPORTANT UPDATE (DECEMBER 2019)
With the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, military servicemen and women can now file claims against the government for medical malpractice committed by military doctors.
This law effectively overrules the Feres Doctrine (more information below), which previously barred legal action against the government for military medical malpractice.
If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death as a result of malpractice committed by military doctors, please call 1-800-525-7111 for a free consultation with a North Carolina military medical malpractice lawyer.
What is the Feres Doctrine?
The Feres Doctrine is also known as the Feres-Stencel Doctrine or the Feres rule. According to the Feres Doctrine, the United States previously was not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries to members of the armed forces sustained while on active duty, on furlough, or resulting from the negligence of others in the armed forces.
The Feres Doctrine was effectively overruled with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019.
The Feres Doctrine was established in 1950 by the United States Supreme Court case Feres v. United States. In the Feres case, the Supreme Court ruled that U.S. servicemen who had suffered after picking up highly radioactive weapons fragments from an airplane crash were not permitted to recover damages from the government.
What is medical malpractice in the military?
Remember, military medical malpractice does not include being hurt or killed in combat. Medical malpractice in the military occurs when a military doctor or other health care provider is negligent or deviates from professional standards, resulting in injury or death.
The Feres Doctrine was highly controversial.
A North Carolina hero tackles the Feres Doctrine
A Green Beret from Fort Bragg, North Carolina has been fighting for his life — and led the effort to eliminate the Feres Doctrine and allow active duty and retired military to sue the government for military medical malpractice.
On April 30, 2019, Sgt. 1st class Richard Stayskal testified before the House Armed Services Committee in Washington DC at a hearing called “Feres Doctrine – A Policy in Need of Reform?”
Stayskal’s story is a heartbreaking tragedy.
Stayskal is a Purple Heart recipient with stage four lung cancer. His cancer was missed in a January 2017 physical at Womack Army Medical Center. Doctors failed to identify a large tumor in the upper-right lobe of his lung during a CT scan. Shortly after the physical, Stayskal’s health declined and six months later he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
In the hearing, Stayskal told the committee:
“The failure of the military doctor’s gross negligence and failure to detect and treat my cancer when it was first noted on the CT done on me in January 2017 is the mistake that allowed the aggressive tumor to double in size and rob me and my family of my life, without any recourse due to a 1950 Supreme Court case that created the Feres Doctrine.”
Stayskal has a wife and two daughters.
During the hearing he also said:
“I want to say that this does affect me obviously, but my children are the true victims.”
Stayskal’s daughters are getting special treatment and counseling at school, while trying to understand how this could happen to their father.
Have you suffered injury due to military medical malpractice?
If you or a loved one has served in the military and suffered injury, illness or death due to medical malpractice committed by military doctors, you deserve justice — and you may be entitled to financial compensation.
To speak with an experienced military medical malpractice attorney in North Carolina, please call 1-800-525-7111 or complete the short form below.
Many of our attorneys and staff have close family ties to the military and we would love to help you get justice if we can.
There is no obligation and you won’t pay any attorney fees unless we win your case and you receive compensation for your injuries or loss.
Call 1-800-525-7111 today and let’s talk.
Justice Counts.