On March 2, 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hui vs. Castaneda, an important case for PHS Commissioned Corps officers. The central question in the case is “Does 42 USC Section 233(a) make the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) the exclusive remedy for claims arising from medical care and related functions provided by Public Health Service personnel?”
COA submitted a “Friend of the Court” brief supporting the positions of the petitioners, PHS officers, that the FTCA does, in fact, protect Commissioned Corps officers from personal lawsuits for actions performed in the line of duty. Without such protection, as clearly recognized by Congress in Title 42, Corps officers would be at risk for malpractice lawsuits wherever they are assigned – a grim and untenable prospect for officers in BOP, Immigration Health Services, and other difficult and often dangerous duty stations. COA’s “amicus curiae” brief was joined by the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The official, although not yet finally approved transcript of the oral arguments before the Supreme Court is at the link below. The Supreme Court Justices set no timetable for announcing their decisions; but a judgment is expected before the Court recesses for the summer in June.
Click here to read the full transcript of oral arguments…
Other media coverage of this case: