[CA] Can a veteran sue the military for pain and suffering from an old service-connected injury?

I'm sorry to hear about your difficult experiences; it sounds very challenging. Can you please provide more details about the accident and the circumstances surrounding it?

Have you already taken any steps to seek compensation or legal action regarding your situation?

Hi there, and welcome. My name is Brandon, and I'm an attorney. I'll be happy to help you out today. Please note that this discussion is for guidance only and does not constitute an Attorney-Client Relationship. My answers and comments should not be considered legal advice. Please also note that I am human, that I often need to research your answer to give you an accurate response, and that I work with other customers and get up from time to time. So please be patient while waiting for a response. Please feel free to reach out if more than 30 minutes have passed.

What are you seeking as an outcome?

Civil lawsuits against the military

Direct civil lawsuits against the military for injuries connected to service are almost always blocked by what is known as the Feres doctrine, established in Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950). In plain terms, courts have long held that service members cannot sue the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries that arise out of or are connected to military service, including medical treatment while on active duty.

This doctrine is very broad. It typically covers:

• Injuries that occur while you are on active duty or subject to military authority.
• Medical or dental care provided by military doctors.
• Career consequences such as reductions in rate tied to medical limitations.

Because of this, a new civil lawsuit today against the military for pain and suffering from the misdiagnosed dental injury is, realistically, not viable. That does not mean there are no remedies. It just means they look different from a traditional lawsuit.

Claims related to the original accident: You mentioned receiving a settlement in the 1960s for the fractured pelvis. Since the dental injury was not known or claimed at that time, it feels unfair that it was excluded. From a legal standpoint, though, reopening or expanding that settlement decades later is extremely difficult. Statutes of limitation, release language in the settlement, and the passage of time almost certainly bar any new civil claim tied directly to the accident itself. This is true even when an injury was not discovered until years later. Courts are very reluctant to revive claims from that era.

Misdiagnosis and medical treatment over 16 years: This part depends heavily on who provided the care. If the care was military or VA care: Civil damages for pain and suffering are generally barred. VA disability compensation is the system Congress set up to address exactly this type of long-term harm.

If some care was provided by civilian doctors: In theory, medical malpractice claims exist. In practice, claims from decades ago are barred by limitation periods, even when misdiagnosis is involved.

The key point is that while the suffering was real, the civil court system is almost certainly closed to these claims due to time and immunity rules.

The strongest remaining avenue: correcting your military record. Where you may still have meaningful leverage is not in court, but through military records correction under (10 U.S.C. § 1552). Each branch has a Board for Correction of Military Records. These boards have the authority to:

1. Correct errors or injustices in service records.
2. Revisit reductions in rate if they were tied to medical conditions.
3. Amend records when later medical evidence shows the original decision was unfair.
4. Importantly, these boards can act even decades later, especially when new evidence shows an injustice.

If successful, outcomes can include:

• Restoration of rank or rate on paper.
• Adjusted retirement or separation status.
• Retroactive pay tied to the corrected record, subject to limits.
• This is not automatic and it requires strong documentation, but it is far more realistic than a civil lawsuit.

Interaction with your VA disability rating: Your 100 percent VA disability rating as of 2025 is significant. While VA benefits generally do not pay traditional pain and suffering damages, they are designed to compensate for long-term impairment and loss of earning capacity.

In some cases: VA back pay can be adjusted if a condition should have been service connected earlier, and effective dates for that compensation are governed by (38 U.S.C. § 5110). A corrected military record can support arguments for earlier effective dates. This is another area where documentation and a clear timeline matter.

What I would suggest as next steps. Based on what you have shared, a practical path forward would look like this:

1. Request and organize records.
2. Service medical and dental records.
3. Records tied to the reduction in rate and Captain's Mast.
4. Post-service medical records documenting the dental injury and misdiagnosis.
5. Apply to the appropriate Board for Correction of Military Records
6. Focus on the injustice of the reduction in rate. Emphasize that the medical condition was real, service connected, and misunderstood at the time. Clearly connect the condition to your inability to perform supervisory duties.
7. Review VA effective dates
8. Determine whether any conditions could have been rated earlier based on existing evidence.
9. Consider whether a request for revision based on error makes sense.

I wish you the best.