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Federal Tort Claims Act
The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States
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2005
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© The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information)
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Federal Tort Claims Act “The King can do no wrong” was a maxim brought to America from England. It reflected the concept of
sovereign immunity. In America, the notion of
executive, or governmental, immunity was translated into statutes and incorporated into the jurisprudence of the new nation. One could not sue a state or one of its subdivisions, or the federal government, unless permission was given to so proceed in the courts. Obviously this led to unfairness and inequity for persons who were tortuously injured by agents of government.
The Federal Tort Claims Act, Title VI of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, was passed by the Congress in an effort to reduce the adverse impact of the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Additionally, it was designed to eliminate the practice of congresspersons introducing private relief bills for constituents who had been injured owing to government negligence. In it, the government gave its general consent to be sued in civil
tort actions in federal court. It required a federal district court judge, sitting without a jury, to render judgment in these cases “under circumstances, where the United States government, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant for such damage loss, injury or death in accordance with the law of the place where the act or the omission took place.” However, it placed the burden of proof on the plaintiff in a tort action; it also contained thirteen exceptions to governmental liability.
In 1953, in
Dalehite v. United States, the Supreme Court interpreted the “discretionary function” exception in such a way that effectively ruled out most substantive tort actions against the government. In 1950, the justices created another exception to the FTCA when, in
Feres v. U.
S. (1950), they concluded that one injured while on active duty in the military could not sue the government under the FTCA. Given these and other precedents and little or no reaction to the Court's statutory interpretations by the Congress, the FTCA has not been a major benefit to persons injured or killed because of negligent actions of federal employees.
Howard Ball
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Viva torts!(analysis of American tort law)
Magazine article from: The Journal of High Technology Law; 1/1/2005; ; 700+ words
; ...philosophers and literature. He loved torts and tort lawyers and we, in turn, loved...talk about his beloved law of torts. In that way at least, I am...who are privileged to teach torts to the next generations of tort lawyers, to engage in this...
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Tort reform in America: abrogating the collateral source rule across the states.
Magazine article from: Defense Counsel Journal; 10/1/2008; ; 700+ words
; IS "TORT REFORM" still a dirty word? The debate over tort reform in America has been raging for more than thirty years...the availability of financial relief in personal injury tort actions. (1) Proponents of tort reform argue that such...
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Tort experiments in the laboratories of democracy.
Magazine article from: William and Mary Law Review; 4/1/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...important private law goals tort law still serves. This has...to displace more easily state tort law without considering the...Once the private law aspects of torts are recognized, it becomes...identify and value the role tort law plays in our federalist...
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U.S. tort costs reach a record $260 billion
Magazine article from: Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal; 4/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; U.S. tort costs reached a record $260 billion in...per person, according to the "U.S.Tort Costs and Cross-Border Perspectives...billion. The 2005 Update analyzes U.S. tort costs from 1950 through 2004, with projections...
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Mass Torts in a World of Settlement.(Book review)
Magazine article from: Michigan Law Review; 4/1/2008; ; 700+ words
; ...ass latent injury torts are the most volatile world of tort litigation. Costs...legal system to mass torts has been to shift from tort to administration...claim: the shift from tort to administration in mass torts reflects administration...
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Tort cost growth levels off, but '94 price tag hits $152B.
Magazine article from: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management; 11/13/1995; ; 700+ words
; ...After 50 years of double-digit growth, tort costs have leveled off, but with a total...of $152 billion in 1994, the U.S. tort system is still the most expensive in the...Towers Perrin. The study - entitled "Tort Cost Trends: An International Perspective...
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TORT REFORM WORKING IN TEXAS; RECENT STUDY RANKS TEXAS FIRST IN OVERALL TORT CLIMATE
News Wire article from: US Fed News Service, Including US State News; 5/12/2006; 700+ words
; ...ranking Texas first among the 50 states in the overall tort climate. The "U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2006 Report," a new study by...states in order from best to worst in terms of their tort systems. "I am proud of the state of Texas' number...
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TORT REFORMS DON'T CUT LIABILITY RATES, STUDY SAYS.(Citizens for Corporate Accountability and Individual Rights study)(Statistical Data Included)
Magazine article from: Business Insurance; 7/19/1999; ; 700+ words
; ...premiums have not dropped in states where tort reform measures have been enacted, a new...consumers group concludes. By comparing tort reform measures enacted by states since...insurance rates, the report found that tort reform has had no impact on commercial...
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Tort costs increase moderately.(National Report)
Magazine article from: Claims; 2/1/2005; 694 words
; Tort costs in the United States reached a record...approximately $845 per person, according to U.S. Tort Costs: 2004 Update, a recent report from...figure represents a 5.4 percent increase in tort costs from 2002, a much slower growth rate...
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Tort 'reformers' have frivolous case, economists say.
Magazine article from: Trial; 7/1/2005; ; 700+ words
; When tort "reformers" make their case for restricting consumer...that publishes a yearly report on the costs of the tort system to the U.S. economy. The most recent study, U.S. Tort Costs: 2004 Update, puts the figure at $246 billion...
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Tort Law
Encyclopedia entry from: West's Encyclopedia of American Law
...synthesized under the heading of torts. Over the last century, tort law has touched on nearly...objectives are served when tort liability is imposed on tortfeasors...ultrahazardous activities. Intentional Torts An intentional tort is any deliberate interference...
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tort
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
...Many crimes are also torts; burglary, for instance...history of Anglo-American tort law can be traced back...property torts. Property torts include several classes of torts, such as automobile...malpractice . In some areas, tort liability can be assigned...
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Toxic Torts
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of Public Health
TOXIC TORTS In law, a tort is a wrongful act that causes harm and...injured by a careless driver may file a "tort action" (lawsuit) to recover compensation from the driver. A toxic tort is one in which the wrongful act consists...
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Federal Tort Claims Act (1946)
Book article from: Major Acts of Congress
...to monetary claims other than tort claims (e.g., claims based...waivers of immunity with regard to tort liability, as in connection...from suit with regard to the torts committed by federal employees...thousands, and the majority of tort claimants being left without...
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Tort
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States
Tort, a harmful wrong (other...to a private party. Torts include injuries to persons...developing the law of torts. The Supreme Court sometimes...substantially altered the torts of defamation and invasion...holding that state tort law may violate constitutional...
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