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Read. Follow. Verify.Hearing on Reforming the Feres Doctrine
Record date · January 1, 2020
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What This Bill Does
The House Subcommittee on Military Personnel held a hearing to examine the , a legal precedent that prevents active-duty service members from suing the U.S. government for medical malpractice. The hearing featured testimony from service members and families who experienced medical errors while in the military and were unable to seek legal recourse.
The currently bars active-duty military personnel from filing medical malpractice lawsuits against the federal government, leaving service members without legal avenues for compensation or accountability for medical errors.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Active-duty service members
They are currently prohibited from suing the federal government for medical malpractice under the Feres doctrine.
Military families
They are impacted by the inability to seek legal recourse for medical errors affecting their service-member relatives.
Key Facts
- The Feres doctrine has been in effect for 69 years, prohibiting active-duty service members from suing the U.S. government for medical malpractice.
- The hearing was held on April 30, 2019, by the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
- SFC Richard Stayskal testified that his radiologic diagnostic test was misread at an Army facility, resulting in a terminal stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
- SSgt Dean Patrick Witt died in 2003 after a nurse administered a lethal dose of fentanyl and incorrectly inserted a breathing tube during a routine appendectomy.
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- Rebecca Lipe testified that military physicians repeatedly misdiagnosed and mistreated her for injuries caused by ill-fitting body armor, resulting in permanent reproductive damage.
- The subcommittee chairwoman, Jackie Speier, characterized the Feres doctrine as a product of judicial activism and argued that reform is a function of Congress.
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News Coverage
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Discoveries
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Congressional push for Feres reform
The hearing signals a formal legislative effort to overturn a 69-year-old judicial precedent through Congressional action.
Connected Entities
Sources
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Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment40Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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