Overseas Claims - The Military Claims Act
The Military Claims Act was designed to fill a gap left
by the Federal Tort Claims Act when Congress failed to make the FTCA applicable
to injuries arising outside of the United States and its territories.
The MCA is an important statute for military families because they often
receive their health care at American military hospitals operated outside
of the United States. If injured in such a facility, a non-active duty
patient can file a compensation claim under the Military Claims Act.
Administrative Adjudication – No Right to Sue
Under the MCA a claim is filed against the offending agency
(Army, Navy, or Air Force). An investigation is conducted by that agency
and a decision is made. If it is determined that injuries resulted from
negligent medical care, then money damages are awarded. If the claimant
is unhappy with the result, he may appeal the decision to a senior official
within the Department of Defense. That official’s decision is
final.
Because there is no right to judicial review, MCA claims are usually
handled differently from those filed under the FTCA. The MCA administrative
claim should be more thorough and must be supported by expert
medical reports. This is important because the claimant does
not have the right to confront the doctors or other health care providers
who caused the alleged injury. Moreover, the claimant cannot confront
the medical expert who reviews the case for the offending agency. Therefore,
the best hope for succeeding under the MCA is to have unimpeachable
experts prepare reports on the claimant’s behalf. Only in
this way can the claimant help defeat the natural tendency of the agency
to defend the actions of its employees.
Our firm takes particular pride in having secured
major recoveries under the MCA despite the difficult obstacles posed
by that statute.
If you have an overseas claim, please contact
us as soon as possible. |
