Can I sue a military doctor or military hospital for medical malpractice?
Hi, I'm Paul McConnell, a veteran and trial attorney at The Doctor Lawyer Team. We often get calls from potential clients and even occasionally, sometimes lawyers inquiring about whether they can sue a military hospital or military doctor for medical malpractice. And the shorter answer is “yes.” If you're a civilian or dependent, you can sue under something called the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Now—it starts with an administrative process that must be exhausted before you can file suit. But once you exhaust the administrative process, you file suit in federal district court under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Now, if you're active duty, the answer is because of the Feres Doctrine you cannot sue for medical malpractice. However, there is a recent claims process for active duty members which can also be pursued that we talked about in other videos. It's important that you find an attorney that's experienced in the Federal Tort Claims Act. Many attorneys across the country are experienced with medical malpractice, but they're not experienced with respect to the Federal Tort Claims Act.
