Two Ways The Federal Tort Claims Act Will Affect Your Medical Malpractice Case

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In general, the federal government is immune to civil lawsuits, which means you cannot sue for damages against federal employees and institutions in a large number of cases. However, the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) does provide a window of opportunity for plaintiffs to obtain compensation for their injuries under certain conditions; but, the law contains several caveats that impact your ability to sue and the amount of money you may be able to get. Here are two ways the FTCA will affect your malpractice suit.

You Have Less Time to File a Case

All states have a statute of limitations for personal injury cases, which is the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit against the defendant to collect money for your damages and losses. The time limit varies greatly from state to state. For instance, you only have one year to sue in Kentucky but up to six years in Maine.

The statue of limitations to bring a suit under the FTCA, though, is limited to two years, and this time limit supersedes states limit. So even if your state gives you six years to file a lawsuit, for instance, you would be barred from suing the federal government if you don't do it within the two year time span.

The good news is, like state statute of limitations, the clock typically starts when the injury occurred or is discovered. If a surgeon who is a federal employee leaves a piece of medical equipment inside you but you didn't discover it until three years after the procedure, the statute of limitations would begin when you found out about the injury.

Be aware, though, that the two year statute of limitation only applies to notifying the liable agency of your intention to sue. Once you've submitted a notice of action, you only have six months to take the case to federal court. Therefore, you need to ensure you work quickly with your attorney to get the case in front of a judge.

Some Damages Don't Apply

Another issue you'll run into with the FTCA is that you won't be able to collect certain damages, namely punitive damages. These damages are typically awarded in cases where the defendant's actions were so egregious the court awards the plaintiff this money to punish the defendant and discourage similar conduct in the future. For instance, if the medical provider sexually assaulted the patient while he or she was being treated, the court may order the defendant to pay punitive damages for engaging in such outrageous behavior.

Even if state law allows punitive damages to be awarded, the FTCA prohibits it. Additionally, the law prohibits plaintiffs from collecting money for attorney's fees. And while the federal government doesn't have caps on damage awards, you will only be able to collect as much money as allowed by the state you live in. So if your state limits medical malpractice awards to $500,000, that's the maximum amount you can get in the case.

To learn more about how the FTCA affects your medical malpractice case, contact an attorney or click here for info.

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22 October 2017

How to Make the Law Work For You

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