Roy L. Siverson v. United States

Siverson sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), alleging medical malpractice by the Veterans Administration Hospital in Tucson. The government conceded liability and a court trial was held on damages. The court awarded $869,000 in special damages, offset by Siverson’s VA disability benefits, for an adjusted total of $464,730. The court also awarded $1 million in general compensatory damages for pain and suffering. The government on appeal argues that (1) Medicare payments should have been offset in the judgment, and (2) the court’s award of $1 million for pain and suffering was excessive.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

Siverson is a World War II veteran who suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, an arthritic spinal condition that caused his early retirement. In 1971, he applied for and received disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. He was also eligible for Medicare benefits. At that time Siverson was capable of and enjoyed many activities of daily living.

On June 25, 1978, Siverson fell and sustained a nondisplaced fracture of the cervical spine between the 6th and 7th vertebral level. X-rays were taken at the VA hospital in Phoenix. On June 29, 1978,…

dissenting:

As to the appellant’s present and tragic physical condition, the District Court found, in part, as follows:

At the time of the District Court’s judgment, Siverson was 62 years of age, and one of the considerations involved in the damage award was presumably that the normal life expectancy of a male person 62 years of age is 17.2 years. In the light of Siverson’s present condition, as outlined above, even though I must concede that my own medical knowledge is limited, I simply cannot believe that Siverson can long survive. The court awarded Siverson $464,730, less certain disability benefits, as special damages. These damages were apparently sufficient to cover the cost of medical and nursing attention to be required by Siverson in the future. I have no quarrel with this award, and neither, apparently, does the Government. The Government does, however, vigorously contend that the additional award of $1 million for pain and suffering alone was excessive. I cannot conscientiously avoid the conclusion that the Government’s position in this respect is correct. Before the Government’s negligence occurred, Siv-erson was already in such a serious physical condition that he…

710 F.2d 557 Roy L. SIVERSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant-Appellant. No. 82-5308. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted April 11, 1983. Decided July 12, 1983. Kenneth Rosengren and Norman Herring, Phoenix, for plaintiff-appellee. Robert S. Greenspan, Atty., Russell L. Caplan, Atty., U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendant-appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Before ELY, SKOPIL, and FERGUSON, Circuit Judges. SKOPIL, Circuit Judge: 1 Siverson sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), alleging medical malpractice by the Veterans Administration Hospital in Tucson. The government conceded liability and a court trial was held on damages. The court awarded $869,000 in special damages, offset by Siverson's VA disability benefits, for an adjusted total of $464,730. The court also awarded $1 million in general compensatory damages for pain and suffering. The government on appeal argues that (1) Medicare payments should have been offset in the judgment, and (2) the court's award of $1 million for pain and suffering was excessive. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW 2…