Legal Aspects In Medicine Practice Test

In the VA medical malpractice cases, who is the defendant?

The individual VA clinician The VA hospital The patient The Federal Government substitutes itself as the defendant

Correct Answer:

The Federal Government substitutes itself as the defendant

Explanation:

In VA medical malpractice cases, the defendant is the United States government. This rests on the Federal Tort Claims Act, which waives sovereign immunity for negligent acts of federal employees acting within the scope of their duties. Since the VA is a federal agency, liability for medical negligence is attributed to the government, not to an individual clinician or to the VA hospital as a separate defendant. The patient is the plaintiff seeking remedy, while the government stands in as the defendant.

Access more questions from this quiz

Continue to Legal Aspects in Medicine Practice Test for more practice questions and the full quiz experience.

Access More Questions