Opinion ID: 395267
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Denise Monaco's Claim for Recovery for her Birth Defect.

Text: 18 Denise attempts to escape the Feres doctrine and clear the way to recovery under the FTCA with two arguments. Her first argument is similar to that of her father, and must similarly be rejected. Specifically, Denise claims that her injury was not the result of an in-service injury because the chromosomal change in her father which induced the injury was no injury. 19 As indicated above, the proper focus in applying the Feres doctrine is not the time of injury, but the time of the negligent act. Whether Denise's injury occurred when she was born with a birth defect or when her father suffered chromosomal change, the allegedly negligent act drawn into question was performed while Daniel was in the service. Thus, just as Daniel could not recover on the grounds that his injury was post-service, we cannot grant Denise recovery on these grounds. 2 20 Denise's second argument is that Feres does not block her claims because she was never a member of the armed forces. She argues that her claim can thus have no effect on discipline between soldiers and their superiors, and points out that she can recover no benefits under the Veterans' Benefits Act for her injuries. 21 The Supreme Court rejected both aspects of this argument in Stencel Aero Engineering Corp. v. United States, 431 U.S. 666, 97 S.Ct. 2054, 52 L.Ed.2d 665 (1977). In Stencel the Court denied recovery by a third party against the United States for a claim seeking indemnity for any damages paid a serviceman. While the party seeking indemnity was not a member of the armed forces, the Court concluded: 22 (W)here the case concerns an injury sustained by a soldier while on duty, the effect of the action upon military discipline is identical whether the suit is brought by the soldier directly or by a third party. The litigation would take virtually the identical form in either case, and at issue would be the degree of fault, if any, on the part of the Government's agents and the effect upon the serviceman's safety. 23 431 U.S. at 673, 97 S.Ct. at 2059, 52 L.Ed.2d at 671. 24 The Court similarly rejected the argument that non-military claimants should be entitled to recovery because of their inability to collect compensation under the Veterans' Benefits Act. The Court noted that the act clothes the Government in the 'protective mantle of the Act's limitation of liability provisions,'  and concluded that (t)o permit the petitioner's claim would circumvent this limitation thereby frustrating one of the essential features of the Veterans' Benefits Act. 431 U.S. at 673, 97 S.Ct. at 2058-59, 52 L.Ed.2d 671 (quoting Cooper Stevedoring v. Kopke, Inc., 417 U.S. 106, 115, 94 S.Ct. 2174, 2179, 40 L.Ed.2d 694, 702 (1974)). 25 Denise's case differs from Stencel in that she seeks relief for an injury to herself rather than indemnity for losses due to injury to her father, but this does not change the substantive analysis: the court still must examine the Government's activity in relation to military personnel on active duty. It is precisely this type of examination the Feres doctrine seeks to avoid. Courts have reflected this analysis in several cases rejecting the claims of non-military plaintiffs seeking recovery for independent injuries stemming from allegedly negligent acts against military personnel. E. g., Van Sickel v. United States, 285 F.2d 87, 90 (9th Cir. 1960) (denying recovery for wrongful death action found to be original and distinct cause of action granted to the heirs and personal representatives of the decedent to recover damages sustained by them); In re Agent Orange Product Litigation, 506 F.Supp. 762 (E.D.N.Y.1980) (denying recovery to children claiming for genetic injuries and birth defects caused by parents' exposure to Agent Orange); Harrison v. United States, 479 F.Supp. 529, 532-35 (D.Conn.1979), aff'd without opinion, 622 F.2d 573 (2d Cir. 1980) (wife's action for loss of consortium barred even though her action was for damages to her own interest, not a remote consequence of the tortfeasor's injury to the husband).