Alaska Federal Tort Claims Act Lawyers

Reviewed by Daniel Pace, Partner, Sandberg Pace & Glazier LLC · Last reviewed November 12, 2026

What is the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)?

The Federal Tort Claims Act, known as the FTCA, is a federal law that lets people seek money damages from the United States for injuries caused by federal employees. Before the FTCA, the government was generally immune from these lawsuits.

Under the FTCA, the United States is liable in the same manner and to the same extent as a private person in like circumstances. In Alaska, Alaska negligence law decides whether the government was at fault. The FTCA adds its own rules on top of that law.

The FTCA covers the negligent acts of federal employees who were acting within the scope of their jobs. That includes people who work for the Postal Service, the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Park Service, and most other federal agencies. A claim against the United States takes the place of a claim against the employee. You generally cannot sue the employee personally.

The FTCA does not cover private contractors. A company that works for the government is usually sued under ordinary state law. Whether someone is a federal employee or a contractor can be the first question in a case.

What claims can you bring against the federal government in Alaska?

Motor vehicle collisions

Postal carriers, military personnel, park rangers, and agency staff drive government vehicles on public roads and on federal land. If a federal driver caused your crash while working, you may have an FTCA claim. A driver who was off duty or on a personal errand is usually treated differently, so the facts of the trip matter. See our page on auto accidents for the general rules.

Premises liability

The United States owns buildings, parking lots, walkways, and land across Alaska. These include post offices, federal offices, military bases, Veterans Affairs facilities, and national parks. If ice, a broken stair, or a poorly lit entrance hurt you, Alaska premises law decides whether the government should have fixed the hazard or warned about it. The government sometimes argues that a decision about maintenance or safety was a policy choice that the law protects. We look closely at that argument. See also slip and fall injuries.

Medical malpractice

Many Alaskans receive care from the federal government or from programs that the FTCA covers. Examples include the Alaska VA Healthcare System and other Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, military treatment facilities, the Indian Health Service, many tribal health programs that operate under federal contracts, and many federally funded community health centers. A claim for medical negligence in these settings is brought against the United States, not the individual provider. Care at a private hospital is usually a different kind of claim. Whether a particular clinic is covered is one of the first things we check.

Aviation accidents

Negligence by federal air traffic controllers can be a cause of an Alaska aircraft crash. See our page on plane and helicopter crashes.

Wrongful death

A family may bring a claim when a federal employee's negligence caused a death. See our page on wrongful death claims.

Postal Service accidents

Collisions and falls involving postal vehicles and postal property fall under the FTCA. Claims for lost or damaged mail do not.

If your injury does not fit these examples, call us. Whether the FTCA applies often depends on who employed the person and what the person was doing.

Can you sue the VA for medical malpractice?

In many cases, yes. You do not sue the VA doctor or nurse. You bring a claim against the United States under the FTCA. First you present a written claim to the VA. If the VA denies it, or does not decide within six months, you may file suit in federal court. The same steps apply to other federal health care providers. Active-duty service members face a separate bar, explained below.

What is an SF-95 and where do you send it?

Standard Form 95 is the form most people use to present an FTCA claim. A claim must describe the incident and demand money damages in a specific amount, called a sum certain. The claim is presented when the agency receives it.

The claim goes to the federal agency whose activities caused the injury. A claim sent to the wrong agency may be transferred or returned, so do not count on that. Send it to the right agency before the deadline. You can amend the claim in writing before the agency makes its final decision.

What is the FTCA statute of limitations?

Two deadlines apply. First, the written claim must be presented to the agency within two years after the claim accrues. A late claim is forever barred. Second, if the agency denies the claim, you must file suit within six months after the agency mails its final denial.

If the agency does not decide within six months, you may treat that as a denial and file suit. A claim generally accrues when you know of the injury and its cause. In a medical case, that can be later than the care itself. United States v. Kubrick, 444 U.S. 111, 123 (1979).

The FTCA sets its own deadlines. They can work differently than the deadlines in an ordinary Alaska injury case. Read our guide to the Alaska statute of limitations for the general rules, then ask us which deadline applies to your claim.

Is there a damages cap under the FTCA?

The FTCA sections that govern damages set no fixed dollar cap. Other limits apply. You cannot recover punitive damages. You cannot recover interest for the time before judgment. A suit generally cannot seek more than the amount stated in the claim, unless new evidence or intervening facts support a higher amount.

Alaska law also limits noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, in personal injury and wrongful death cases. The general limit is the greater of $400,000 or the injured person's life expectancy in years multiplied by $8,000. A higher limit applies to severe permanent physical impairment or severe disfigurement. AS 09.17.010. Because the FTCA looks to Alaska law, these limits can apply to an FTCA claim. See Taylor v. United States, 821 F.2d 1428, 1431-32 (9th Cir. 1987) (applying California's cap on noneconomic damages in an FTCA medical negligence case).

What can a lawyer charge in an FTCA case?

Federal law caps attorney's fees in FTCA cases. A lawyer may charge no more than 20 percent of a settlement reached with the agency during the administrative claim. The limit is 25 percent of a court judgment or of a settlement reached after a lawsuit is filed. 28 U.S.C. § 2678.

Case costs, such as records and expert fees, are separate from the fee. Your fee agreement explains how costs are handled. See how our fees work. The first consultation is free.

What is the Feres doctrine?

The Feres doctrine is a rule from the United States Supreme Court. Under that rule, the government is not liable under the FTCA for injuries to service members that arise out of, or occur in the course of, activity incident to service. Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 146 (1950).

The rule bars most claims by active-duty service members, including claims for military medical care. Retirees, family members, and civilians treated at military facilities are often in a different position.

What the FTCA does not cover

The FTCA has exceptions. The government will raise them, and some end a case early.

• Discretionary decisions. The United States is not liable for acts that involve policy judgment, such as certain planning and regulatory decisions.
• Many intentional torts. The Act excludes many intentional torts, including assault, battery, libel, slander, and misrepresentation. It carves out some claims against federal law enforcement officers.
• Contractors. Private companies that work for the government are not federal employees under the FTCA.
• Federal employees hurt at work. These workers generally receive benefits under a federal workers' compensation program and cannot sue under the FTCA.
• Injuries in a foreign country. The Act does not allow claims that arise in a foreign country.
• Maritime claims. Claims involving government vessels and some maritime injuries fall under separate admiralty statutes with their own rules. See our page on maritime and Jones Act injuries.

How an FTCA claim works

An FTCA case starts with a written claim to the federal agency.

1. File an administrative claim. You present the claim in writing to the agency that employed the person who hurt you, with a specific dollar amount.
2. Meet the two-year deadline. The claim must reach the agency within two years after it accrues.
3. Wait for the agency. The agency has six months to decide. If it denies the claim in writing, or does not answer within six months, you may go to court.
4. File suit within six months of a denial. A lawsuit must be filed within six months after the agency mails its final denial.
5. Go to federal court. The case is filed in the United States District Court. A judge decides the case. There is no jury in an FTCA trial.

The amount on the claim form limits what you can later ask a court to award, with narrow exceptions. A claim form filled out without legal advice can cost a person money they were entitled to recover.

Experience on the other side

Before joining Sandberg Pace & Glazier, Dustin Glazier served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Alaska. He defended federal agencies in civil litigation, including tort actions and medical malpractice claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act. He now represents Alaskans in civil litigation.

Frequently asked questions

Talk to us about your claim

See also our pages on all injury practice areas and Alaska injury law.

Sources

Top photo: “Courtroom, Federal Building, Anchorage, Alaska” by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress (source, public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.

This page gives general information, not legal advice for your situation.