Personal Injury › Military Law

For Love of Country: Veterans and Benefits for PTSD

The widespread deployment of U.S. military personnel since the September 2001 terrorist attacks has resulted in a growing epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among those returning home from war abroad....more

Trial Attorney Tax Summary for Taxation of Settlements and Damages – Part 6: Damages for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Overview - This article is designed to outline the tax treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) damages for plaintiffs. PTSD has become a household illness particularly among our soldiers returning from Iraq...more

Veteran Awarded Millions When VA Gives Wrong PTSD Meds

A Marine sergeant who developed post-traumatic stress disorder after some harrowing experiences in Iraq won $3.7 million in his lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for not treating his illness properly and...more

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act: Giving Second Life To Cases Otherwise Barred By The Statute of Limitations

How an obscure section of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act can save a case when the statute of limitations has run...more

Searching For The Limits Of The Feres Doctrine

In 2001, a military surgeon mistakenly severed two of Army Staff Sgt. Michael McClaran’s nerves during laparoscopic surgery, which left half of McClaran's diaphragm paralyzed. Yet McClaran is barred from suing. ...more

Vietnam Vets Bring Suit, Alleging Army Used Them as Guinea Pigs

The 1990 movie Jacob’s Ladder told the story of a Vietnam veteran tortured by hallucinations that were caused by drugs he was given, without his knowledge, by the U.S. Army. Twenty-two years later, welcome to the real...more

Political Question Doctrine Requires Dismissal of Wrongful Death Suit Against Government Contractor in Iraq

Earlier this month, in a lengthy and well reasoned opinion, a federal trial court relied on the Political Question Doctrine in dismissing a wrongful death action against a military contractor. In Harris v. Kellogg, Brown &...more

Soldiers’ Families Blocked from Suing Military Hospitals

A large number of combat troops have been returning home from their overseas missions, and many are seeking treatment at military and VA hospitals for injuries and conditions they’ve suffered as a result of their combat...more

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petition to Overturn Feres Doctrine

United States Supreme Court denies petition by Chicago personal injury attorneys, Fichera & Miller, seeking to overturn the 60- year-old Feres Doctrine and preserve the rights of servicemembers and veterans....more

Fisher v. Halliburton: Fifth Circuit Invokes Common Sense To Defend Defense Base Act

In March 2010, a federal district court in Texas ruled that the deaths and injuries sustained by a group of civilian convoy drivers in Iraq during insurgent attacks were not “accidents” caused by conditions of...more

Government Contractors - Fifth Circuit Upholds Exclusivity of Defense Base Act Compensation Scheme for Injuries to Federal...

On January 12, 2012, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion ending six years of litigation against KBR and Halliburton over injuries and fatalities to contractor drivers in an...more

Purcell v. United States

Petition for Certiorari

On Monday, January 23, 2012 I am filing a petition for certiorari seeking to refine or overturn the Feres doctrine. Over the last 60 years the Feres doctrine – a judicial interpretation of the Federal Tort Claims Act - has...more

FICHERA & MILLER TAKES CASE TO U.S. SUPREME COURT FIGHTING FOR THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF MILITARY SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN

January 23, 2012, Chicago, IL: Chicago personal injury attorneys, Fichera & Miller, call upon the United States Supreme Court to overturn the 60- year-old Feres Doctrine and preserve the rights of servicemembers and...more

Purcell v. United States

Order Denying Petition for Rehearing

The 7th Circuit denied Purcell's Petition for rehearing this morning without the justices even voting on the issue. The 7th Circuit has made it abundantly clear that it does not care that the Feres doctrine is devolving...more

Should Veterans Have the Right to Sue for Negligence in Military Hospitals?

Since 1950, U.S. veterans have been unable to make claims for medical malpractice committed in military hospitals. This seemingly unfair rule was decided in a U.S. Supreme Court case referred to by the Plaintiff’s name,...more

Purcell v. United States

Plaintiff-Appellant's Reply

Reply brief suggesting new test to apply the Feres doctrine and asking 7th Circuit to consider original intent of FTCA....more

Purcell v. United States

Plaintiff-Appellant's Opening Brief

Plaintiff-Appellant's Opening Brief challenging district court's application of Feres Doctrine....more

Filing a Claim Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)

A claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act should: 1) be in writing; 2) state the name and address of the claimant; 3) state the name and address of the offending government agency; 4) state the basis of the claim being...more

HYBRID ACTIONS UNDER THE FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT (FTCA)

It is common in Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) practice to encounter cases whose facts require expanding the claim beyond the confines of the FTCA. Combining a FTCA action with other federal and state actions can immensely...more

Hybrid Actions Under the Federal Tort Claims Act FTCA

It is common in Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) practice to encounter cases whose facts require expanding the claim beyond the confines of the FTCA. Combining a FTCA action with other federal and state actions can immensely...more

VA Opens New Brain Injury Center, Streamlines PTSD Claims Process

After long-term criticism of how it treats soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Veterans Administration has made some important progress. In his June 10 radio...more

United States District Court For The Southern District Of Texas Deprives Battlefield Contractors Of The Protections Of The Defense...

A recent decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas may have caused grave damage to protections long available to overseas government contractors and their employees under the Defense Base...more

A REVIEW OF FATAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS, THE LAS VEGAS EXPERIENCE

A REVIEW OF FATAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS, THE LAS VEGAS EXPERIENCE...more

TICKET ENFORCEMENT IS PAYING A TICKET ANOTHER FORM OF TAX. THE LAS VEGAS EXPERIENCE

TICKET ENFORCEMENT IS PAYING A TICKET ANOTHER FORM OF TAX. THE LAS VEGAS EXPERIENCE. ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS OF WHY NHP & METRO WRITE SO MANY CITATIONS...more

Negligence Suits Likely Over VA Procedures

As reported today in the Washington Post, the Department of Veterans Affairs is facing the possibility of a series of negligence lawsuits over contaminated medical equipment used in colonoscopy and endoscopy procedures. Here...more