I was in the process of joining the Navy through BDCP and would go to OCS summer of 2010, I had a 10:17 mile and 1/2, 74 push ups in 2 minutes, 98 situps in 2 minutes, 5s across the board on ASVAB (so I could choose any pipeline from my understanding) so I was going to join as Surface Warfare Officer or Pilot but the Navy Doctor Disqualified me for a disease I do not have. He said I have Bronchioreactive disease because I filled out the medical paperwork honestly and said I used an inhaler (albuterol) for an upper respiratory infection for 3-5 days in 2003. My primary physician wrote a letter disputing this claim and stated that I DO NOT have Bronchioreactive disease. I am disqualified from joining the service because of this accusation and because I am allergic to bees. I'm not arguing against being DQ'd or wanting to sue because of being DQ'd but rather I wanted to sue the Navy Doctor for malpractice or defamation. Do I have a suit?
larrydaffern
From a lawyer. No, you cannot sue a Navy Doctor because he has immunity from such lawsuits under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
MSAD
No.
It's his medical opinion. He has the right to make an opinion. There is no malpractice here.
Terri M
No. You would be prohibited from suing a Navy doctor. Your claim would be against the government as you cannot sue an enlisted doctor, personally.
You would not prevail with a claim of malpractice because he provided an opinion, not treatment.
rickinnocal
"I wanted to sue the Navy Doctor for malpractice or defamation. Do I have a suit?"
Almost certainly not.
First, he is acting as an agent of the government, which means he is covered under "Sovereign Immunity" - you can't sue the Government unless it allows you to.
Second, the papers you signed almost certainly said you had no recourse.
Third, malpractice requires that he be negligent in his duties, and a disagreement over a report does not necessarily imply that he was, (The Navy, too, may use a stricter definition of bronchioreactive disease than the one your civilian Dr is using) and defamation requires a false statement of fact, not an opinion - which is what a Drs report is.
Richard
my avatar is hot but I'm not
No, you can't sue him, he's protected in his position by federal law.
Also, if your allergy to bees is a disqualifier, then you're not eligible anyway, right? So the other issue is a dead horse.
Defamation and malpractice are two entirely different things, and your issue doesn't qualify for either. If the physician's letter didn't persuade them to reconsider then there were probably other factors that made it a "no".
For every door that closes another one opens.. look for it and best of luck.
pauleankidd3
I don't believe that you can sue the doctor of the navy because he is really covered by laws but I would talk to a lawyer anyway because even if you were able to sue him for slander or something, there is still a statute for a lawsuit.
Orignal From: Do I have a Lawsuit?
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