Parker Waichman LLP Opposes Efforts by U.S. Government to Expand Feres Doctrine, Block Medical Malpractice Lawsuits by Military Families
New York, NY (PRWEB) February 14, 2012
Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm dedicated to protecting the legal rights of injured victims, opposes the U.S. Justice Department’s efforts to expand the application of the Feres Doctrine, which according to the firm, would have the effect of blocking military families from filing medical malpractice and other personal injury suits against the U.S. Government in civilian courts. Should the Justice Department continue to pursue these efforts in the Courts, Parker Waichman LLP calls on the U.S. Congress to immediately pass legislation amending the Federal Tort Claims Act in order to protect the legal rights of U.S. military personnel and their families.
Established by a 1950 Supreme Court decision in Feres v. United States, the Feres Doctrine was meant to cover situations that occur during battle or in the course of armed forces activities. However, over the years, Courts have extended the Feres Doctrine to stateside medical care, barring troops from suing if they are injured by a negligent doctor within the military healthcare system. According to Parker Waichman LLP, the Feres Doctrine already harms the quality of medical care at military facilities because it shields them from lawsuits which would otherwise create transparency and hold them accountable for mistakes.
Now, however, the U.S. Justice Department is attempting to expand the scope of Feres even further, by barring families of active duty service men and women from suing the military’s medical system for malpractice, according to a report from Newsinferno.com. According to attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP, if the Courts adopt the Justice Department’s interpretation of the Feres Doctrine, military spouses and their children would have no legal recourse for injuries sustained as a result of medical malpractice within the U.S. military health system.
Expanding the scope of the Feres Doctrine would rob military families, who sacrifice so much to safeguard the freedoms of other Americans, of a vital right enjoyed by every other U.S. Citizen – the right to have their grievances heard in a court of law, according to Parker Waichma LLP.
Parker Waichman LLP calls on the Justice Department to end its efforts to expand the Feres Doctrine. The firm further urges the U.S. Congress to pass legislation amending the Federal Tort Claims Act to give U.S. military service personnel and their families the fundamental right of access to the U.S. courts, the same right that every other American enjoys. In the 60 years since the Feres Doctrine was established, Congressional efforts to amend the Act have failed due to political considerations. It is time for both parties in Congress to put partisan politics and ideology aside, and support and give our troops access to the very fundamental rights they protect and defend, many with their lives, on behalf of every American.
Parker Waichman LLP is a leading personal injury firm that represents the injured victims of medical malpractice, defective drugs and medical devices, and toxic substances. The firm maintains offices in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Washington, D.C. For more information on Parker Waichman LLP, please visit: http://www.yourlawyer.com or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).
Contact: Parker Waichman LLP
Herb Waichman, Partner
(800) LAW-INFO
(800) 529-4636
http://www.yourlawyer.com
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