Military Medical Malpractice

What Is Considered Military Medical Malpractice?

American soldiers need the highest quality care to do their job.

Unfortunately, soldiers throughout the years have suffered injuries due to negligent medical workers.

Active military members were never allowed to file lawsuits for medical malpractice until recently, with the introduction of a new law.

Military medical malpractice occurs when medical personnel in the military cause injuries to a patient through negligence or omission.

This can happen in many different ways, such as:

• Giving an inaccurate diagnosis
• Improper treatment
• Or even harming the patient during surgery

Some injuries are minor while others have life-long impacts on a person’s health.

Medical malpractice is an issue in every level of medicine and requires the assistance of an experienced military medical malpractice lawyer.

Can You Sue the Military for Medical Malpractice?

Feres v. the United States, a case that took place in 1950, has prevented American soldiers from filing medical malpractice lawsuits for nearly 70 years.

Numerous attempts at reversing the Feres Doctrine have failed.

As a result, thousands of veterans live with debt, injuries, or have even died from gross medical negligence.

The Feres Doctrine doesn’t just apply to soldiers, either.

Anybody working for the military who is injured by medical personnel has been prohibited from suing the government—nurses and engineers apply, for example.

Until recently, you could not sue the military for medical malpractice.

The Executive Branch introduced a bill in December of 2019 that now allows soldiers to file suit with the help of a military medical malpractice lawyer.

1790, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

The Federal Government passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December 2019.

The act says that active-duty military members or their closest living relatives can file a lawsuit for injuries or death caused by military medical malpractice.

Such lawsuits would be between the plaintiff and the federal government.

While revolutionary for struggling veterans, the NDAA outlines exactly when and how the lawsuits will work.

First, lawsuits cannot be filed for injuries that happened in a combat zone.

Second, injury cases will be paid out administratively.

The Department of Defense will thus pay claims less than $100,000, and larger claims will be reviewed by the Secretary of Defense.

If you’re seeking compensation for your military injuries, you have two years from the date you were injured to file a claim.

What Qualifies as Malpractice?

Medical malpractice comes in many forms.

Here are the most common types of medical malpractice:

• Delayed or improper diagnosis
• Failure to treat an illness
• Surgical errors or unnecessary surgery
• Birth injuries
• Anesthesia errors
• Bad prescriptions (dosage, type of medication, etc.)

The doctors whose decisions led to your injury are not always the defendants.

Some medical malpractice cases demonstrate that a third party is liable, such as the maker of a faulty medical product.

To discuss liability in a military injury claim, contact a military medical malpractice lawyer.

Military Malpractice Injuries

Military malpractice injuries are those that result from the list above, specifically from a medical representative working for the military.

Some malpractice injuries go unnoticed and do little harm while others take a significant toll on a soldiers’ well-being.

Some anesthesia errors leave patients with brain injuries or nerve damage.

Serious cases even lead to death.

Birth injuries constitute things like vaginal tearing, uterus damage, and postpartum Hemorrhages.

Giving someone an improper prescription can cause a variety of injuries including:

• Allergic reactions
• Neurological complications
• Cancer

A doctor’s failure to take action can also lead to military malpractice injuries.

If an active-duty soldier, for example, conveys symptoms to a doctor that the doctor ignores, his illness will go untreated until his symptoms are much more severe or he sees a different doctor.

Failure to treat some illnesses causes complications and makes the recovery process more difficult.

Evidence often leads back to inadequate medical intervention which makes the doctor liable.

If you have suffered a problem with your health to the negligence of a military doctor, you may want to file a military medical malpractice lawsuit.

Military Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

The passing of the NDAA means that victims of military medical malpractice can now come forward with their claims.

Filing a military medical malpractice lawsuit is straightforward and can earn you financial compensation for your losses.

Service members have already been awarded military medical malpractice settlements to cover the costs associated with their injuries.

If you or a loved one suffered injuries resulting from malpractice during your time in service, you may qualify to participate in a military medical malpractice lawsuit.

Contact a military medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your legal options.

Steps to File a Military Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

First and foremost, you should do everything in your power to mitigate injuries by seeking proper medical treatment from a new doctor and following that doctor’s instructions.

After mitigating injuries, you should hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you as your military medical malpractice lawyer.

You can begin to gather evidence for your case – your lawyer will help you in this process.

Medical files, military service records, medical bills, and other costs associated with your injury are all strong forms of evidence to support your claim.

Your military-medical malpractice lawyer will need to determine liability – meaning, he or she will determine which party or parties are at fault for your injuries.

You will demand compensation for the damages that you incurred as a result of those injuries.

In some cases, the service member would demand compensation for both punitive damages and compensatory damages.

Your lawyer will file your complaint, which will either be paid out or reviewed by the state department.

In some cases, your claim may be disputed and you may enter a military medical malpractice lawsuit trial.

Claims for Military Negligence

The first claim of military negligence was filed on January 1, 2020.

It is not clear how many other veterans have taken advantage of the new policy, but lawyers nationwide are preparing for military negligence claims.

Negligence describes cases where medical workers had no intention of harming the patient.

If a soldier is injured because of a surgery that was proven to be necessary for him, it may be classified as negligence.

An assessment from a legal expert is required to classify an injury as having resulted from military negligence, military malpractice, or neither.

Claims for Military Malpractice

Military malpractice claims are being reviewed alongside military negligence claims.

These claims are more demonstrably tied to ill-intent on the part of a doctor or nurse.

It could be that your doctor chose to prescribe medication in order to receive a financial bonus, for example.

That prescription ended up damaging your health because it was not a necessary treatment option.

If you are not sure whether your case qualifies as malpractice or negligence, talk to a military medical malpractice lawyer.

Do I Qualify for a Military Malpractice Lawsuit?

You may qualify for compensation through a military malpractice lawsuit.

To find out if you qualify, you can first try an Instant Case Evaluation online.

If the evaluation does not cover military injuries, then you can go ahead and call an attorney.

Personal injury attorneys are in charge of handling malpractice cases.

When you call a lawyer, they will go over the details of your potential case.

Things like dates and diagnoses are very important when it comes to lawsuits.

Your lawyer will then do any necessary research to verify that you are eligible for a military malpractice lawsuit.

Your main responsibility is to have any useful information about your injuries ready to give the lawyer.

How Long Do I Have to File a Military Malpractice Lawsuit?

For most cases, the statute of limitations for your military malpractice injuries is two years.

You have two years from the date of the injury to take legal action.

Some nuances can affect this exact date that requires analysis from a legal expert.

Even if you are not sure about the statute of limitations for your injuries, you may still be eligible for a lawsuit.

Hiring a Military Malpractice Lawyer

Not all injury firms are taking clients for military malpractice.

However, TorHoerman Law is accepting these new and urgent cases.

Our law firm has been closely monitoring the policies surrounding military injuries and is ready to help.

We can begin the civil lawsuit process as soon as we find that you are eligible, which can only happen if you take action.

Call (888) 508-6752 to speak to a medical military malpractice lawyer today.