Justia U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Plaintiff initially filed a medical malpractice claim with Maryland’s alternative dispute resolution agency within the Federal Tort Claims Act's (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. 2671 et seq., limitations period. However, plaintiff did not file a complaint in federal court until well after that period had passed. The district court dismissed the complaint as untimely. The court concluded that, because an “action is begun” under the FTCA only by filing a civil action in federal district court, plaintiff's claim was untimely. The court also concluded that plaintiff failed to demonstrate that any extraordinary circumstances warranted equitable tolling. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Raplee, Jr. v. United States" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed a wrongful birth action against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. 2671 et seq., after her federally-supported prenatal care provider failed to timely inform her that her child would be born with severe congenital abnormalities. The district court found in favor of plaintiff and awarded her $12 million in economic and noneconomic damages. When plaintiff was eighteen months pregnant, the provider detected potential fetal abnormalities during a routine ultrasound but, due to errors on its part, the provider did not inform plaintiff of the abnormalities until three months later. Because at that point plaintiff was well into her third trimester, the laws of West Virginia and nearby states barred her from terminating her pregnancy. The court concluded that the district court properly awarded plaintiff damages attributable to her child’s past medical expenses; the district court correctly measured plaintiff's damages using the amount medical providers billed for her child’s care, rather than the amount the West Virginia Medicaid program paid those providers; but the district court erred in failing to hold a post-verdict, prejudgment collateral source hearing. Accordingly, the court affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Simms v. United States" on Justia Law