Military Medical Malpractice Injustice May Be Reversed
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law today approved a bill which would enable armed service members and their families to hold the military accountable for medical malpractice.
The current law prevents any such malpractice lawsuits from being filed against the military regardless of the egregiousness of the situation, a basic immuniity for the miltary healthcare providers. Victims of medical malpractice had no recourse against the military.
The new bill, the Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act of 2009 (named after a servicement who died of skin care due to medical negligence), would legislatively reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's 1950 ruling in Feres vs. United States in which the court ruled that military members and their families have no right or ability to sue the military for negligent medical care given to them during their service.
Let's hope this bill gets passed so that the military, who fight for us, have the same rights as us civilians. That they can have access to good healthcare and have recourse for negligent healthcare.
