| Popis: |
Heather Ortiz was an active duty officer in the United States Air Force when she gave birth to a child that was injured due to alleged medical malpractice by government physicians. A suit was filed on behalf of the injured child. The Government defended citing the Feres Doctrine and the Appellate Court affirmed the government's position. The Appellate Court applied a "genesis test" for determining injury and held that the infant's injury was caused by the injury to the mother and therefore barred. Under the Appellate Court's analysis, a male service member would not be barred, only a female.Since 1950, active duty military personnel injured incident to service are barred from actions against the government due to the Supreme Court's decision in Feres vs U.S., 340 US 135 (1950).The "Feres Doctrine" has been widely criticized by courts and commentators for leading to absurd outcomes. The decision in Ortiz puts the Tenth Circuit at odds with other Circuits. The amicus brief in support of the petition for certiorari discusses how the Appellate Court application of a derivative injury test was an improper application of the law, at odds with other Circuits, and discriminatory against female service members. |
