S. H. V. United States, No. 15-15000 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseS.H., the daughter of William and Chantal Holt, was born prematurely while the family was stationed at a United States Air Force (USAF) base in Spain. As a result of her premature birth, S.H. was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after the family returned to the United States. The Holts filed suit against the United States, alleging that officials at a USAF base in California negligently approved the family's request for command sponsored travel to a base in Spain ill-equipped to deal with Mrs. Holt's medical needs. The Holts also argued that S.H.'s injury first occurred upon their return to the United States. The district court awarded damages to the Holts. The court applied the foreign country exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. 2680(k), and held that an injury is suffered where the harm first impinges upon the body, even if it is later diagnosed elsewhere. Here, the undisputed facts of this case indicate that the force—the brain injury S.H. suffered at or near the time of her birth—impinged upon her body in Spain. Consequently, Spain is where the Holts' claims arose. The court concluded that S.H.'s cerebral palsy is derivative of the harm she sustained at birth. Accordingly, the court vacated and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Court Description: Federal Tort Claims Act. The panel vacated the district court’s judgment in favor of plaintiffs who brought a Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) action against the United States; held that the plaintiffs’ claims arose in Spain and therefore were barred by the FTCA’s foreign country exception; and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff S.H. was born prematurely while her family was stationed at a United States Air Force base in Spain, and as a consequence of her premature birth, S.H. suffered a permanent brain injury that led to a diagnosis of cerebral palsy after she returned to the United States. The FTCA generally waives the United States’ sovereign immunity from suits in torts, but the waiver is subject to certain exceptions. Under the foreign country exception, the FTCA’s waiver of immunity does not apply to any claim arising in a foreign country. The panel held that an injury is suffered where the harm first impinges upon the body, even if it is later diagnosed elsewhere. The panel concluded that the brain injury S.H. suffered at or near the time of her birth impinged upon her body in Spain; thus, that was where the plaintiffs’ claims arose. The panel further held that S.H.’s cerebral palsy was derivative of the harm she sustained at birth. S.H. V. UNITED STATES 3 Judge Graber concurred in the result. She wrote separately because, in her view, the timing and content of the administrative claim filed by plaintiffs, while they were still in Spain, foreclosed their claims under the FTCA.
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