Military Law,
Health Care & Hospital Law,
Government
Jan. 24, 2020
Fixing Feres
Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent known as the “Feres doctrine,” active members of the military, along with their heirs, are precluded from suing military doctors for negligence.
Antoinette Balta
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Veterans Legal Institute
Email: abalta@vetslegal.com
The Veterans Legal Institute in Santa Ana is a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services to low income and homeless veterans. Antoinette is also an officer in the California State Guard.
Brendan M. Ford
Partner
Ford & Diulio PC
Email: bford@forddiulio.com
Brendan represents clients throughout California in business disputes, labor & employment matters, and personal injury claims.
Consider the following: A physician negligently leaves a piece of cloth inside a patient following surgery. As a result of that negligence, the individual dies. The wrongful death heirs would then sue the physician and the hospital for medical malpractice, correct?
If the malpractice victim is a member of the armed forces, the answer, surprisingly, is no. Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent known as the "Feres<...
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