George L. Smith v. United States

Appellant Smith, having suffered injuries while undergoing tests on behalf of the Government, seeks recovery under the Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2674 . He has taken this appeal from judgment of the District Court rendered in favor of the Government.

The United States has not seen fit to accept strict liability for injuries incurred by those voluntarily engaging in tests in the public interest. The Government’s liability is limited to cases: of negligence. Dalehite v. United States, 346 U.S. 15, 44-45 , 73 S.Ct. 956 , 97 L.Ed. 1427 (1953). The sole question on appeal is whether appellant has established negligence on the part of the Government as matter of law. We conclude that he has not.

Appellant, while in flight school training in 1940, voluntarily submitted himself to the tests of the Pensacola Study of Naval Aviators. The Study involved follow-up testing in subsequent years, and in 1963 appellant went to Pensacola for the purpose of taking further tests. One of the tests was a postural equilibrium test that involved walking heel-to-toe on a three-quarter inch rail placed two-and-one-half inches above the floor, with hands folded across the chest. The idea was to see how…