Legal Steps After Receiving Faulty Medical Advice in the Military – For the Military – Khawam Ripka LLP
BREAKING NEWS: You can now file a claim for sexual assault while on active duty in the military, as per the recent 9th Circuit Court decision. Call us today for your free consultation!
BREAKING NEWS: You can now file a claim for sexual assault while on active duty in the military, as per the recent 9th Circuit Court decision. Call us today for your free consultation!

Legal Steps After Receiving Faulty Medical Advice in the Military
Legal Steps After Receiving Faulty Medical Advice in the Military

When you trust a military doctor, nurse, or healthcare provider for advice, you expect to receive competent, reliable guidance. But what happens when that advice is wrong — and causes you serious harm?

Faulty medical advice in military healthcare settings is a growing concern. It may result in delayed diagnoses, unnecessary procedures, permanent injury, or even death. Whether you’re active duty, a dependent, or a veteran, it’s crucial to know your legal rights and how to act quickly.

At Khawam Ripka LLP, we help military families hold negligent medical providers accountable. If you were harmed because of inaccurate, misleading, or negligent advice from a military provider, here’s what you need to know.

What Is Considered Faulty Medical Advice?

Faulty medical advice is any recommendation, diagnosis, or guidance from a healthcare provider that falls below the accepted standard of care and leads to patient harm. This may include:

  • Incorrect diagnosis or failure to identify a serious illness

  • Misinterpretation of lab results or imaging scans

  • Failure to refer to a specialist when needed

  • Recommending the wrong course of treatment

  • Improper medication guidance or dangerous drug combinations

  • Telling a patient their condition is “normal” or “not serious” when it’s urgent

In military healthcare systems, this advice may come from:

  • Military base hospitals

  • On-base clinics

  • TRICARE-affiliated civilian providers

  • Telehealth consultations within the military system

Who Is Eligible to File a Claim?

Whether you can file a claim depends on your military status and the nature of the incident.

✅ Military Dependents & Retirees:

Can generally file malpractice claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).

✅ Veterans:

Can file claims for negligence through VA hospitals or clinics.

⚠️ Active-Duty Service Members:

Typically barred from suing under the Feres Doctrine, but may now file administrative claims under new Department of Defense procedures for certain medical malpractice cases. (See Filing a Military Medical Malpractice Claim While on Active Duty).

Real-World Examples of Faulty Advice

  • A service member is told their chest pain is anxiety, later discovered to be a heart attack

  • A military spouse is advised to delay a biopsy that would have caught cancer early

  • A child is prescribed adult dosages of medication after a misdiagnosis

  • A veteran is told their neurological symptoms are stress-related when they are signs of MS

In each of these cases, negligent medical advice directly contributed to prolonged suffering, worsened conditions, or irreversible harm.

Legal Steps to Take Immediately

If you believe faulty medical advice has led to injury, take the following steps as soon as possible:

1. Seek a Second Medical Opinion

Get evaluated by a civilian or non-military provider. Their assessment can help correct the misdiagnosis and document the difference in care quality.

2. Request and Preserve Medical Records

Secure all records from your original treatment and subsequent consultations. This includes notes, test results, prescriptions, and communication with the provider.

3. Document Your Experience

Maintain a detailed timeline, noting when you received the advice, what was said, how it affected your decisions, and the outcome.

4. File a Standard Form 95 (SF-95)

This form begins the FTCA claims process. You must file it within two years of when the injury occurred or was discovered.

5. Contact a Military Medical Malpractice Attorney

Legal guidance is essential when dealing with military procedures, federal claims, and complex medical issues.

How the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Applies

Under the FTCA, you can seek compensation from the U.S. government if:

  • A federal employee (including a military medical provider) caused injury

  • The act of negligence occurred within the scope of their employment

  • The conduct violated the accepted standard of care

Compensation under FTCA can include:

  • Medical costs

  • Lost wages

  • Pain and suffering

  • Loss of future earning capacity

If the administrative claim is denied or ignored within six months, you may file a federal lawsuit.

What About Active-Duty Service Members?

Due to the Feres Doctrine, active-duty personnel generally cannot sue for malpractice. However, since 2020, the Department of Defense allows limited administrative claims for injuries caused by negligent medical treatment.

To qualify:

  • The injury must not be “incident to combat”

  • The claim must be filed within two years

  • The provider must have been acting within the scope of their federal employment

Though you cannot take your case to court, you may still receive compensation through the administrative process.

Learn more in Filing a Military Medical Malpractice Claim While on Active Duty.

Why Faulty Medical Advice Is So Dangerous

Medical advice is the foundation of every health decision you make. When that foundation is broken:

  • Serious conditions can go undiagnosed

  • Surgeries can be delayed until it’s too late

  • Medications can cause preventable side effects

  • Mental health conditions can worsen due to neglect

And in many military settings, patients may feel discouraged from questioning their provider’s authority—leading to even greater harm.

Why Choose Khawam Ripka LLP?

We are a nationally recognized firm focusing exclusively on military medical malpractice cases. Our team has decades of experience handling:

  • FTCA claims

  • DoD administrative malpractice procedures

  • Complex cases involving delayed diagnosis or bad medical advice

We work with top medical experts, gather strong evidence, and fight to protect your rights—no matter where you’re stationed or what your rank may be.

Internal Links for Continued Learning

  • How Military Medical Malpractice Differs from Civilian Medical Malpractice

  • Seeking Justice for Pediatric Injuries in Military Medical Facilities

  • Understanding Military Medical Malpractice Under the Federal Tort Claims Act

Take Action Now
 If you’ve been harmed by faulty military medical advice, don’t wait. Contact Khawam Ripka LLP today for a free consultation. We’ll help you understand your legal rights and guide you toward justice.

Follow Us

Linkedin Facebook-f Instagram Twitter

More Post

Here at Khawam Ripka, we are passionate about helping heroes in the military get the attention and financial compensation they, and their families, deserve.

If you or someone you love has been a victim of military medical malpractice, we would be honored to represent them and their family in their claim.

CONTACT US

Watch how Attorney Natalie Khawam fought for a decorated Green Beret

Free Case Review

Share your experience and we will call you
If you were Active-duty within the last 2 years, we can help.

Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Your privacy is important to Khawam Ripka, LLP and its affiliated companies (hereinafter collectively referred to as “we,” “us,” “our” or “Khawam Ripka, LLP”). Because your privacy is our concern, we have developed this Privacy Policy to inform you about Khawam Ripka, LLP’s privacy practices. This Privacy Policy covers how we collect, use, disclose, transfer, and store your information. The examples in this Privacy Policy are illustrative only and are not intended to be exhaustive.

INFORMATION COLLECTED

We use the term “Personal Information” to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, telephone number(s), driver’s license number, occupation, date of birth, social security number, personal or business tax identification numbers, legal information (such as judgment, liens, bankruptcies, etc.), credit history, and medical information (such as your health status and treatment history). The information we obtain depends on the context of your interactions with us. We may obtain such information directly from you on our website (the “Site”) or by telephone, and/or from applications, contracts, documents and forms you complete or sign. We may obtain additional information about you or, with your authorization, about others who may have an interest in your insurance or annuity policy, from your insurance or annuity company, insurance producer, health care providers, creditors, credit reporting agencies, and from your representatives or advisors. We may also obtain information about you from public records and, with your authorization, from other persons.

We use the term “Anonymous Information” to mean any information that does not identify you, and may include, for example, aggregated demographic information and statistical information concerning how you and other visitors use our website (the “Site”).

USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use the Personal Information you provide for purposes of the transactions or information that you request. As permitted by law, or as authorized by you, we may share your Personal Information with affiliated and non-affiliated companies that provide services related to information or transactions you request, under the following additional circumstances: (i) for us to establish or exercise our legal rights or to defend against legal claims; (ii) in connection with a proposed or actual sale, merger, transfer, exchange or consolidation of Khawam Ripka, LLP, an affiliated company or any portion thereof; (iii) to secure or obtain services and/or advice from our attorneys, accountants and auditors; and (iv) to permit our affiliates to contact you about products or services. We may also disclose your Personal Information to others for other purposes, with your authorization or otherwise as required or permitted by law.

Maintaining the accuracy of your information is a shared responsibility. We maintain the integrity of the information you provide us and will update your records when you notify us of a change. Please contact us at the address or phone number listed below when information concerning you changes.

USE OF ANONYMOUS INFORMATION

We may share Anonymous Information with our partners and resources.

FORMER CONTACTS OR INQUIRIES

We treat information obtained from past contacts and inquiries in the same manner we treat information that we obtain through current or future contacts or inquiries.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

We restrict access to your Personal Information to our employees who need this information in connection with your current or future transaction(s) or to provide you information that you may request from us. We maintain electronic, procedural, and physical safeguards to guard your nonpublic information. We take precautions to protect your information, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While the computers/servers in which we store your Personal Information are kept in a secure environment, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

UPDATES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to change this privacy policy at any time. If our information practices change, we will post the changed policy to our website. These privacy principles do not constitute a contract, create legal rights, or supersede any preexisting agreements with clients.

“COOKIES”

We use “cookies” on this site. A cookie is a piece of data stored on a site visitor’s hard drive to help us improve your access to our site and identify repeat visitors to our site. For instance, when we use a cookie to identify you, you would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information on our site. Note that your browser settings may allow you to automatically transmit a “Do Not Track” signal to websites and online services you visit. There is no consensus among industry participants as to what “Do Not Track” means in this context. Like many websites, Khawam Ripka, LLP currently does not alter its practices when it receives a “Do Not Track” signal from a visitor’s browser.

LINKING

Our Site may contain links to other affiliated websites. Because we do not control the content of websites linking to or from our Site, we are not responsible nor can we make representations regarding the content of those websites or their individual privacy policies. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any website that links to or from our Site that collects personally identifiable information.