Military Medical Malpractice?

[anson34]

my husband was told today that if a soldier could sue he could for malpractice. Its another soldier who is a surgeon. Is it true they can not sue? If not how do we go about this... jag?

[delron]

That is correct. That is why the military actively recruits doctors that have had malpractice suits against them. They also recruit doctors right out of school.

How many doctors do you know that will give up a nice practice to join the military and be paid the same as any other officer at that pay grade (the military pays based on pay grade, not skills - a doctor as an O3 will make the same as all other officers at the O3 pay grade).

Talking to JAG would be a good first step. if they can't help you, they probably know who could. if the situation is bad enough, the doctor could be kicked out. Most likely, though, he would get a reprimand on his record that will follow him for the rest of his military career.

[chay]

There are laws preventing servicemembers or their families from suing the government. This most likely applies here. The person to consult with is the JAG, and your husband needs to follow his chain of command to see how to do this properly.