The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) allows veterans and their families to file a medical malpractice claim against VA doctors and employees if their negligent care caused an injury. The Federal Tort Claims Act prescribes a uniform procedure for handling of claims against the United States, for money damages only, on account of damage to or loss of property, or personal injury or death, caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of a Government employee while acting within the scope of his or her office or employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of General Counsel, “A tort claim against the United States, based on a negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs acting within the scope of his or her employment, may be filed by the injured person or his or her legal representative using Standard Form 95, Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death; however, use of the SF 95 is not mandatory as long as the following requirements are met: 1) detailed allegation; 2) sum certain (total dollar amount claimed in damages); and 3) signature of appropriate claimant. A tort claim must be received by the proper Agency within two years of the date the claim accrued.
Once you have completed the claim form and ensured it complies with the above, please mail to the following address:
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of General Counsel
Torts Law Group
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
[email protected]
Fax: (202) 495-5076″
However, the Office of General Counsel’s statements above are deceptively simple and may even be considered misleading due to the strict requirements regarding completing and filing Standard Form 95, etc. For instance, the U.S. Department of Justice warns: “Please note that a completed form must state a claim for money damages in a “sum certain” amount (that is, a specific amount) claimed for personal injury, death, or injury to or loss of property. In addition, if a sum certain is not specified in Standard Form 95 block 12d, or in accompanying information, a submission cannot be considered a valid presentation of a claim.”
As the Military.com website states, “After the claim is fully submitted, the VA will have six months to issue a response to your administrative claim and either will accept, offer to settle or deny the claim. The VA’s written denial of your claim or failure to issue a response within six months — which is considered a “constructive denial” — will allow you to file a lawsuit in federal court, wherein a judge will hear and decide your case.”
Most claims for medical malpractice involving the VA are denied at the administrative level, amd therefore a federal lawsuit naming the United States of America as the Defendant will be necessary.
Medical malpractice claims against the VA are complicated and involve areas of federal law that are full of potential traps that can easily result in an unsuccessful claim for those who do not comply with the many and detailed filing and litigation requirements. For instance, the FTCA includes a requirement that a claimant exhaust his administrative remedies before initiating litigation. More specifically, the FTCA contains the following provision: “An action shall not be instituted upon a claim against the United States for money damages for injury or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment, unless the claimant shall have first presented the claim to the appropriate Federal agency and his claim shall have been finally denied by the agency in writing and sent by certified or registered mail.” Furthermore, the FTCA expressly requires that all claims be presented to the VA before initiating a FTCA lawsuit. 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a).
If you or a loved one suffered harm as a result of medical malpractice involving the VA, you should promptly find a federal medical malpractice lawyer (Federal Tort Claims Act lawyer) who may investigate your federal medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a Federal Tort Claims Act medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find veterans medical malpractice attorneys in your U.S. state who may assist you.
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