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Change Law Shielding Military Doctors
Currently, active duty service members cannot sue for medical malpractice or negligence because of the 1950 Supreme Court decision in Feres v. United States. But the House recently passed a new provision in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, that could overturn part of that ruling.
"[Military servicemen] don't have a legal right or have any legal recourse when it comes to malpractice," said attorney Natalie Khawam, who represents dozens of service members blocked from suing the military for malpractice or negligence.
Khawam said that the law was designed to protect medics who were working in combat. But the ruling's broad application has given Stayskal almost no recourse after he said doctors at Fort Bragg's Womack Army Medical Center ignored a tumor growing in his lung.