Federal Tort Claims Act Statute of Limitations (All You Need To Know)

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What is the statute of limitations for federal tort claims?

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What Is The Federal Tort Claims Act Statute of Limitations 

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), an injured person can file a lawsuit for the recovery of damages against a federal employee liable for the damages.

Particularly, the FTCA applies to medical malpractice types of claims committed by federal employees, health care providers, and health practitioners.

The statute of limitations Federal Tort Claims Act is essentially two years.

Any injured person must file a lawsuit within 2 years of the injury caused by the defendant’s negligence.

Otherwise, the action will be forever time-barred.

Typically, the federal government benefits from sovereign immunity shielding it from claims and possible liability.

The FTCA is a limited waiver to the United States government’s immunity where injured persons are granted the right to pursue the government for negligence and tort claims.

What Is Statute of Limitations

Statutes of limitation refer to the time period a claimant (the plaintiff) has to file a lawsuit (or claim) against another party (the defendant).

In essence, to say “statute of limitations” is to say “deadline”.

For example, if the law allows for an injured person to file a negligence claim within 2 years of the injury (or personal injury), you can say that the 2-year period is the “statute of limitations” or “deadline” established in law for claims to be filed.

If the claim is not filed within the legally defined time period, the legal action will be legally time-barred.

What Is The FTCA?

The Federal Tort Claims Act is a federal statute in the United States allowing individuals and injured people to file a lawsuit against the U.S. government due to the negligence, wrongful acts, or injuries caused by its employees.

In other words, if a federal employee, working within the scope of his or her employment causes injury or death to another, can expose the U.S. government to compensate for damages caused.

For example, military veterans and service members (or their representatives) may invoke the Federal Tort Claims Act for compensation relating to surgical errors, brain injuries, failure to diagnose, or even wrongful death.

Federal Tort Claims Statute of Limitations Legal Basis

The U.S. Code, Title 28, part IV, Chapter 161, Section 2401 provides the legal basis for the statute of limitations under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

The 28 U.S.C § 2401(b) is formulated as follows:

In other words, the FTCA statute of limitation is of two years.

FTCA Claim Process

Let’s briefly look at the administrative claim process when filing an FTCA claim.

To ensure that you take the right steps in filing a claim, you should consult with a qualified and experienced attorney who understands the Federal Tort Claims Act and the statute of limitations.

This article is intended to provide you general information and guidance.

Administrative Claim

The first step is to file a claim with the federal agency against whom you intend to file an action.

For example, the victim of military medical malpractice will start the process by completing Standard Form 95. 

The administrative claim is crucial as an injured person must file this claim and give the government agency at least six months to investigate the matter before filing a lawsuit before the federal court.

If the agency does not respond in six months or formally denies the claim, the injured person can then file a lawsuit before the courts (provided it respects the two-year deadline). 

In some cases, the government agency takes more time than six months to respond, in that case, the claimant can file suit before the court.

Discovery Rule

The discovery rule is a notion providing an injured party potentially more time to file suit against the government.

In some cases, the victim discovers the wrongful act much later in time.

Some claims under the FTCA fall under the discovery rule and to ensure the victim has a fair chance of filing a claim, the statute of limitations may start running as of the moment the victim became “aware” or “discovered” the injury or should have known about it.

Statute of Repose

The statute of repose is similar to the notion of “statute of limitations” whereby it’s a legal timeline allowed to file a lawsuit.

Although the FTCA does not contain a statute of response, many states have adopted such a statute of repose for medical malpractice claims.

If a claimant does not file suit within a certain period of time, based on the statute of repose, the claimant’s right to file suit will be extinguished.

What’s notable with the statutes of repose is that they represent an “absolute” bar to file suit after the timeline has expired.

Federal Preemption

A person may argue against the application of the state’s statute of repose by invoking the argument of the “Federal Preemption”.

The notion of Federal Preemption is to state that when state laws conflict with federal laws, the federal law will preempt the state law.

In the matter Kubrick v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the FTCA preempts the applicable state limitation periods.

FTCA Statute of Limitations Takeaways 

So what does the Federal Tort Claims Act Statute of Limitations entail?

What are the timelines you need to observe to file a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act?

Let’s look at a summary of our findings.

Federal Tort Claims Act Statute of Limitations 28 USC 2401

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