Torts : Medical Negligence - Federal Tort Claims Act - Future Medical Damages

Stephanie Maniscalco//May 28, 2015//

Stephanie Maniscalco//May 28, 2015//

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Where plaintiff and his wife sued the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act after he suffered a brain injury and a leg amputation due to negligent medical care at a veterans’ hospital and a dispute arose over the structuring of the payment of future medical damages, the district court could not strictly apply a periodic payment scheme to the federal government because sovereign immunity prevents the imposition of ongoing obligations like continuing payments, and on remand the court should determine what portion to pay as a lump sum and what should be placed in a reversionary trust for periodic payment.

Vacated; remanded.

Askew v. U.S. (MLW No. 67844/Case No. 14-1205 – 6 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8^th Circuit, Colloton, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Autrey, J. (Mark William Pennak, Washington, D.C., argued for appellant; Matthew M. Collette appeared on the brief) (David Damick, St Louis, argued for appellee; Jeanne Anne Steffin appeared on the brief).

Read the full text of this opinion. (PDF)

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