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Feres Doctrine

Military Medicine: Sheltered from Litigation

The U.S. government has historically been immune from lawsuits without its consent. That changed in 1946 with the Federal Tort Claims Act which initiated a limited waiver of sovereign immunity allowing itself to be sued in the same manner and extent as a private individual would in acts of negligence against a government employee.

Four years later, however, the U.S. Supreme Court re-examined the Federal Tort Claims Act as it pertained to military malpractice. Resulting from this case was the Feres Doctrine, prohibiting members of the armed forces from suing the federal government or its employees for medical malpractice. (United States Reports). Today, the Supreme Court is considering two separate cases challenging the Feres Doctrine on behalf of military members.