The Feres Doctrine
Last year, CBS News reported on Marine Sergeant Carmelo Rodriguez and his battle with the medical malpractice system in regards to the military. While serving in the Marines, Sgt. Rodriguez was misdiagnosed by military doctors, saying a malignant melanoma was actually just wart. Years later, Sgt. Rodriguez was medically discharged due to his cancer, and due to a little known law called the Feres Doctrine, Sgt. Rodriguez’s family cannot bring a medical malpractice case against the government.
Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the United States is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries to members of the armed forces sustained while on active duty and not on furlough and resulting from the negligence of others in the armed forces. The opinion is an extension of the English common-law concept of sovereign immunity.
The practical effect is that the Feres doctrine effectively bars service members from successfully collecting damages for personal injuries, whether or not they were suffered in the performance of their duties. It also bars families of service members from filing wrongful death or loss of consortium actions when a service member is killed or injured.
The full CBS News report can be seen below. CBS reported earlier this year that the “Carmelo Rodriguez Military Malpractice and Injustice Act” is being introduced into Congress by New York state representative Maurice Hinchey.
October 31st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
[...] you familiar with the Feres Doctrine? The New York Law Blog has some interesting information on the little known law which relates to medical malpractice and [...]
November 16th, 2008 at 12:43 am
My son Michael Fremer was killed at Fort Polk, La on 2/13/08 because of Army Negligence. The Army can not accountable because of the Feres Doctrine. This law needs to be changed. How come the Army is not liable for Negligence? Our young men and woman are risking their lives. This is how our country treats them and the families? The Feres Doctrine needs to be overturned!
June 25th, 2009 at 3:18 am
My son Eric died on 4-6-2009 of lymphoma. He was on the carrier Stennis and got very sick and they treated him for six weeks with Tylenol. By the time he got to Balboa in San Diego, his cancer was so bad as to be uncurable and he died four months later. I have been on local radio, gone on the local navy base to confront the chief of staff unannounced face to face, and protested with very explicit signs just outside of the base property. He was only 22 years old.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
The Feres Doctrine boggles the mind. This needs to be overturned. My son Michael Fremer was killed at Fort Polk, La on 2/13/08 because of Army Negligence during a training exercise. The Army can not be held accountable because of the Feres Doctrine. Why is the Army exempt from being held accountable for Negligence? Our young men and woman are risking their lives. This is how our country treats the soldiers and the families? How many others die because of poor training? It seems the Army keeps this quiet.
There are other cases that involve the feres Doctrine. For example Medical Malpractice in the army. Also Marines being exposed to Toxic chemicals on US Bases. The Military is exempt from being held accountable on all of these matters. The Feres Doctrine needs to be overturned.
This is a petition to overturn the Feres doctrine:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed...