US Faces Wrongful Death, Injury Claims Revived by Fourth Circuit

The estate and family of a woman who died after surgery at a Navy hospital can proceed with a lawsuit alleging claims for negligence and wrongful death, the Fourth Circuit said Tuesday.

Five of the six original plaintiffs met the jurisdictional requirements for filing suit against the US under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said in reversing the case’s dismissal for want of jurisdiction. The court clarified that the only jurisdictional requirements for filing suit are found in the FTCA itself; additional Navy-specific regulations implementing the statute didn’t apply, it said. ...