Government Shutdown Hurting Plaintiffs Bringing Malpractice Lawsuits

The recent government shutdown is having adverse effects on the court system, leaving injured plaintiffs to wait even longer for a court date.

Many plaintiffs in medical malpractice lawsuits have already been waiting and facing challenges while attempting to seek compensation for their injuries.

An adverse consequence of the government shutdown is the government’s inability to continue in cases against them.

Although only a small number of these personal injury and medical malpractice claims are filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, attorneys have reportedly told Law360 that court processes have completely halted under the act since the government shutdown.

The Federal Tort Claims Act controls allegations of negligence against the federal government. In light of the shutdown, federal courts across the country have reportedly stayed all civil cases against the government until after the shutdown is resolved.

Gerald D. Jowers Jr. of Janet Janet & Suggs LLC told Law360 that he was recently informed that the trial for a Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit, which was scheduled for today, would be “indefinitely postponed.”

The case was filed by the mother of a young boy who allegedly suffered permanent brain damage due to medical malpractice and negligence by a Tennessee military hospital. Due to the government shutdown, Jowers’ client will have to wait yet again to appear in court which is a major setback for the ongoing litigation.

“It’s an inconvenience for me, but it’s probably a big obstacle for our client who has been waiting a long time for her day in court and now it’s continued because of the shutdown,” Jowers explained.

Other attorneys have reported similar experiences. Medical malpractice lawyer Sean Cronin told Law360 that he’s had the difficult job of explaining to his clients that their cases have been halted due to the shutdown.

Cronin’s Florida practice primarily handles cases under the Federal Tort Claims Act and is currently working with a family’s wrongful death suit. The lawsuit claims that a Georgia military hospital’s negligence caused the death of a one-year-old child who reportedly suffered brain damage at birth.

“The husband is deployed as a tank commander in Poland, and we have to tell him, ‘Sorry, your case is stayed, because the president of the United States wants to build a wall on the southern border,’” Cronin said. “It’s ludicrous.”

Trials are not the only court processes being halted by the shutdown. Even if plaintiffs have already secured verdicts in court, they may be faced with delays in receiving the money they are owed.

Luckily, not all court processes have been halted by the government. The federal justice department recently asked to stay proceedings in a teen immigrant class action lawsuit, but was denied by the judge who found that the shutdown does not eclipse the “safety of human life.”

However, attorneys and plaintiffs alike are still frustrated that the majority of civil cases – including those under the Federal Tort Claims Act – have been halted by the federal government shutdown which seems to have no end in sight.

“I’ve been involved in other shutdowns and partial shutdowns. In the FTCA world, if the government shuts down for a week it doesn’t matter, our deadlines aren’t that tight. But when you get into something like this, it makes a big difference,” Cronin said. “We never thought we’d be in a situation where the federal judicial system is shut down for politicians’ inability to pay the bill. It’s ludicrous and unbelievable.”