Washington Military Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Protecting Injured Military Service Members in Washington

Did you suffer a serious injury or illness due to the mistakes of a doctor or a medical professional at a military hospital or on-base medical clinic in Washington? You could be owed compensation for your losses and harm. National Trial Law would be honored to help you pursue it.

Our Washington military medical malpractice lawyers salute and thank you for your honorable service to our country. We want to show our appreciation by offering you high-quality legal counsel and representation for cases brought against the military in Washington. The U.S. Armed Forces are the most powerful armed forces in the world, but we still won’t back down if it means standing up for the rights of a wrongfully injured military service member.

We handle many types of military medical malpractice claims, including:

• Birth injuries and labor and delivery errors
• Delayed diagnoses and cancer misdiagnoses
• Failure to diagnose or treat a stroke
• Surgical errors that cause severe injury
• Unsafe or wrong prescription medications
• Failing to prevent falls in high-risk patients
• Inadequate hospital care
• Wrongful death caused by medical malpractice
• And other serious medical issues

Talk to our law firm now. Please use an online contact form or call (833) 913-1885.

Can an active-duty service member bring a claim for medical malpractice at a military base in Washington State?

Yes. The Feres doctrine is a legal doctrine that stands as a significant limitation on the ability of military personnel to sue the federal government for injuries incurred during military service. The doctrine is named after the case of Feres v. United States, which was decided by the United States Supreme Court.

Under the Feres doctrine, Washington State military personnel are generally barred from bringing a lawsuit against the government for injuries caused by the negligence of other service members or military medical personnel, even if the injuries occur outside combat situations. However, there are certain exceptions to the doctrine, such as cases involving injuries suffered by military personnel who are not on active duty or injuries caused by medical malpractice in civilian medical facilities. For example, if your baby has been injured due to obstetrical negligence during labor and delivery at a Washington state military hospital, you can still bring a lawsuit for that negligence.

But generally speaking, an active-duty service member cannot bring a lawsuit for medical malpractice but our law firm has had success in settling claims by active-duty service members for medical malpractice under the Military Claims Act (MCA). The MCA is a legal framework that allows active-duty military personnel, their dependents, and civilian employees of the Department of Defense to seek compensation from the U.S. government for personal injuries or death caused by the negligent or wrongful acts of military personnel acting within the scope of their employment. The MCA provides an administrative process through which active-duty service members can file claims for damages, and it establishes procedures for the investigation, evaluation, and settlement of such claims.

Military Bases in Washington State

Our military medical malpractice attorneys of National Trial Law have won major victories for people who were negligently injured by powerful defendants, such as major medical institutions and the U.S. Armed Forces . We use our experience and knowledge to bring military medical malpractice cases against the U.S. Department of the Army, the U.S. Department of the Navy, the U.S. Department of the Air Force, and all other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. If a medical provider’s errors at a Washington military base, hospital, or clinic left you or a family member injured or ill, then we want to hear from you.

We can take cases that involve any of the military bases in Washington State, including:

1. Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane
2. McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma
3. Camp Murray Army Base in Tacoma
4. Fort Lewis Army Base in Pierce
5. Yakima Training Center Army Base in Yakima
6. Navy Base Kitsap Navy Base in Silverdale
7. NS Everett Navy Base in Everett
8. NAS Whidbey Island Navy Base in Oak Harbor

Joint Base Lewis-McChord

The largest military medical institution in Washington State is part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, southwest of Tacoma. Statistically and historically, most of the military medical malpractice claims filed in Washington will originate from a military medical provider’s mistake at one of the base’s many health clinics.

Health clinics within the larger Joint Base Lewis-McChord military medical network include:

• Madigan Annex
• McChord Clinic
• Winder Clinic
• Okubo SCMH
• Allen Soldier-Centered Medical Home
• Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU)
• Puyallup Community Medical Home
• South Sound Community Medical Home
• Armed Forces Wellness Center
• Intrepid Spirit Center
• Armed Services Blood Bank – PNW

Madigan Army Medical Center

Madigan Army Medical Center handles the day-to-day and emergency medical care for most military service members living on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. As it is at any medical center, the medical professionals at Madigan Army Medical Center must always perform medical procedures with care and caution to avoid medical errors. If one does occur, then the medical center and the U.S. Department of the Army could be liable for the harm and the related damages.

Our firm has one of the largest settlements from Madigan Army Medical Center in FTCA history. We were able to get our clients a $10,000,000 settlement, with lifetime benefits, in Guill v. United States. In that case, during delivery, our client’s fetal monitoring alerted providers to multiple episodes of bradycardia that went ignored. Failure to properly interpret fetal monitoring and failure to properly resuscitate at birth caused global brain damage. 

Military medical malpractice claims originating from Madigan Army Medical Center may involve:

• Incorrect order of triage in the urgent and emergency care clinic.
• Surgical errors, such as wrongful amputations or instruments left in patients.
• Laboratory errors, such as incorrect diagnostic testing and results.
• Child injuries caused by the mistakes of pediatric doctors.
• Cancer misdiagnosis by the center’s oncology department.
• Orthopedic care mistakes that can worsen an orthopedic injury.
• Insufficient mental health treatments, such as ignoring clear signs of suicidal ideation.
• And other serious mistakes that could constitute medical malpractice.

Representation for Any Medical Injury

National Trial Law can represent military service members and military veterans and their families who have suffered from medical malpractice while seeking medical care for any injury. For example, we can help if you were injured on active duty and then suffered medical malpractice when seeking medical care from a military clinic in Washington. But we can also help if you or a member of your family were hurt by medical malpractice in a Washington military hospital while undergoing treatment for a health condition unrelated to your military service.

File an FTCA Claim with Our Help – Call Now

If you want to file a military medical malpractice lawsuit for harm caused by a medical error in a Washington State military hospital, then you will have to use the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) or the Military Claims Act (MCA). National Trial Law has the resources, experience, and strength required to confidently file an FTCA lawsuit against a government entity like the Department of Defense. Let us handle all steps of the process, so you can rest.

To file a military medical malpractice claim in Washington using the FTCA, you should:

1. Collect medical records that detail your medical treatment needs, what went wrong, and the costs associated with all relevant treatments.
2. Keep a journal about how your life has been changed by the injury or illness associated with or caused by medical malpractice.
3. Collect photos, videos, and other evidence that show your life before and after the injury.
4. Fill out and file a Standard Form 95 before the statute of limitations expires, which could be two years or less.
5. Work with our attorneys, who can negotiate for a settlement, litigate in court, and much more in your name.

You do not need to try to go through this difficult process alone. Stand with National Trial Law and let us handle everything for you. We would be honored to represent someone who has proudly represented the United States of America. Please call our Washington military medical malpractice attorneys at (833) 913-1885 now.

Initial consultations for military service members and their families are FREE.