When a Soldier’s Worst Day Meets a Lawyer’s Hardest Answer: Why This Page Exists
If you came to this page after watching the 2026 Warrior Games in San Antonio, or after hearing Major Jonathan Turnbull’s story — the Army civil affairs officer blinded by an ISIS suicide bomber in Manbij, Syria in January 2019, told he would never walk or talk again, who has since run an Army 10-miler and is competing in eight adaptive sports this June — you probably came with a question. It is a question many military families carry in silence: Can my loved one sue? Can the government be held accountable? Is there any legal recovery for what happened?
We are going to answer that question honestly. The answer is one most law firms will not give you, and it is the reason we wrote this page: in the vast majority of combat-injury cases, the answer is no — not because the injury isn’t real, not because the sacrifice isn’t recognized, but because a 1950 United States Supreme Court decision called the Feres doctrine bars it. That sounds like a legal technicality designed to protect the government from accountability. In some ways, it is. But the law also built something in its place — a system of military benefits, disability compensation, and survivor programs that is substantial, if hard to access. And in a narrow set of cases, civil claims do survive.
Our role here is to explain the whole picture — what the Feres doctrine does, what benefits exist, where the legal doors are still open, and where we, as a Texas trial firm, can actually help. We do not handle combat-injury claims. We will say so plainly. But we serve Texas service members and veterans every day in the narrow areas the law still allows, and if this page is the most honest, complete, and useful explanation of the Feres doctrine on the internet, then it has done the job we built it to do. The consultation is free. We are available 24/7 at 1-888-ATTY-911.
What Is the Feres Doctrine, and Why Does a 75-Year-Old Case Decide Whether You Can Sue?
The Feres doctrine comes from a 1950 United States Supreme Court decision, Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950). In that case, the Court held that the federal government is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act (the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)) for injuries to service members that arise out of or are incident to their military service. The FTCA is the ordinary mechanism by which someone injured by a federal employee’s negligence can sue the United States — it is the federal equivalent of suing a private party. Feres carved out a massive exception for active-duty service members, and the Court has repeatedly reaffirmed it for over seven decades.
The doctrine is broad. It bars claims arising from combat operations, training accidents, medical care at military facilities, and even some off-duty conduct. The test courts apply is whether the injury was “incident to service” — a phrase that, in practice, covers almost anything that happens to an active-duty service member. Courts have rejected Feres-barred claims involving soldiers injured in barracks fires, military airplane crashes, military hospital malpractice, and yes, combat attacks by enemy combatants overseas. The Feres doctrine is not a technicality. It is the controlling law of the land for service members seeking civil recovery from the United States, and it has been applied to bar claims that, in the civilian world, would be open-and-shut negligence cases.
The reasoning the Court gave in 1950 — and that Congress has never overturned — is rooted in a distinctively military concern: that civil suits by service members against their own government would undermine discipline, morale, and the chain of command. Critics have argued for decades that the doctrine has expanded far beyond its original justification and now leaves seriously injured service members without recourse for genuine government negligence. There is legislation introduced in nearly every Congress to narrow or repeal Feres (the most recent is the Serve Act), and federal courts of appeals have occasionally signaled discomfort with the doctrine’s scope. As of this writing, however, Feres remains the law. Any attorney who tells a wounded service member they can sue the federal government for a combat injury without explaining Feres is either uninformed or dishonest. We will not do either.
“The government is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries to servicemen where the injuries arise out of or are in the course of activity incident to service.” — Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 146 (1950), as reaffirmed in United States v. Johnson, 481 U.S. 681 (1987).
Why a Combat Injury in Syria Is a Different Legal Animal From a Car Wreck in Houston
Most of the cases on this firm’s website are about commercial vehicle crashes, refinery accidents, and other incidents where a private defendant — a trucking company, a pipeline operator, a premises owner — owed a duty of care to the injured person and breached it. In those cases, Texas law applies (modified comparative negligence under the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, Chapter 33), a two-year statute of limitations runs under § 16.003, and the injured person can pursue full economic and non-economic damages against the at-fault party and their insurance. That system works because there is a defendant with assets, a policy, and a legal duty.
A combat injury has none of those features. The actor who caused the harm is an enemy combatant of a non-state organization operating in a foreign war zone. The United States, the only domestic defendant, did not cause the injury through any negligence — Major Turnbull’s team was attacked while on a legitimate civil affairs operation, the day before he was scheduled to redeploy home. There was no negligent driver, no defective product, no unsafe premises. There was a war, and the soldier was wounded in it. Feres recognizes that this category of harm is not the kind of harm the tort system was built to address. Whether you agree with that judgment is a policy question for Congress. Whether it is the law is a question with a clear answer: yes, it is.
The practical consequence is that combat-injured service members cannot pursue civil tort recovery against the United States for the attack itself. They also cannot sue ISIS — a designated foreign terrorist organization with no presence in U.S. courts and no attachable U.S. assets. They cannot sue the individual bomber. The legal system has no answer for the central wrong. That is a hard truth, and we will not dress it up. What the system has built is a parallel structure of military compensation, disability benefits, and survivor programs that, while not tort recovery, is the actual pathway to financial stability after a combat injury. That pathway is the subject of the rest of this page.
What Benefits ARE Available to Wounded Service Members: The Real Recovery Pathway
Because Feres bars civil tort recovery for combat injuries, the United States has built a separate system of administrative benefits that provides financial support, medical care, and rehabilitation services to wounded service members and their families. These benefits are substantial. They are also complex, time-limited in their application windows, and frequently under-claimed because the people who qualify for them do not know they exist. We will walk through the major programs here. If you are a wounded service member or a family member, this section is the part of the page that may change your financial life.
Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (TSGLI). TSGLI is a tax-free lump-sum payment under 38 U.S.C. § 1980A, administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, that pays between $25,000 and $100,000 for qualifying traumatic injuries. The maximum $100,000 is paid for losses such as total blindness, loss of a limb, or severe burns. Major Turnbull, having lost one eye entirely and the sight in the other, would have qualified for the maximum. The application must be filed within two years of the injury (with limited exceptions for incapacitated members), and it requires medical documentation of the qualifying loss. Families often miss this benefit because the notification process is not automatic — you must apply, and you must apply on time.
Disability Retirement. A service member who is medically unfit to continue serving is referred to a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) and Physical Evaluation Board (PEB), which assign a disability rating (typically 0% to 100%). A rating of 30% or higher makes the member eligible for disability retirement, which pays a percentage of base pay (roughly 2.5% per rating point, so a 60% rating produces about 50% of base pay) for life. Disability retirement is taxable. For a field-grade officer like a Major with 15+ years of service, this can be a meaningful monthly income.
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). CRSC, authorized under 10 U.S.C. § 1413a, is a tax-free monthly payment that bridges the gap between disability retirement (which is reduced by VA disability pay) and the amount the service member would have received before the offset. CRSC is available for disabilities that are combat-related, including injuries from hostile action, training that simulates combat, or hazardous duty. For a service member with a high combat-related disability rating, CRSC can add thousands of dollars per month in tax-free income.
Special Compensation for Assistance with Activities of Daily Living (SCAADL). SCAADL is a tax-free monthly payment for service members who, as a result of a serious injury or illness, require assistance with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, eating, or using the bathroom. The current maximum is approximately $4,000 per month. It is paid in addition to other compensation and is specifically designed to help families offset the cost of caregivers and adaptive equipment for catastrophically injured service members.
TRICARE Medical Coverage. Active-duty service members and their families receive comprehensive medical coverage through TRICARE, including specialized care at military treatment facilities like Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, which houses the Center for the Intrepid — one of the nation’s premier rehabilitation centers for amputees and burn survivors. After separation, many combat-injured service members retain TRICARE eligibility for life.
VA Disability Compensation. Under 38 U.S.C. § 1110, veterans with service-connected disabilities are entitled to tax-free monthly compensation, with ratings from 0% to 100%. A 100% rating currently pays roughly $4,000 per month or more (with dependents added). Critically, VA disability can be received in addition to military retirement pay (though CRSC is the more tax-efficient path for combat-related disabilities). The VA also provides healthcare, vocational rehabilitation, and adaptive housing grants through programs like the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant.
Survivor Benefits. For families of service members who die from combat injuries, the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) provides a monthly annuity, and the Death Gratuity provides a $100,000 tax-free lump-sum payment. Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) and the Service members’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) provide additional death benefits. The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and the Gold Star family programs provide non-financial support.
The combined value of these benefits, over a lifetime, can reach into the millions of dollars for a severely combat-injured service member. That is not a tort verdict. It is not “being made whole” in the moral sense. But it is the structure Congress and the Department of Defense have built to acknowledge the sacrifice, and accessing it fully is something every wounded warrior and every military family deserves. The challenge is that the application processes are complex, the deadlines are real, and the denials are common. That is why the VA-accredited representatives and veterans service organizations listed at the end of this page exist.
When a Service Member CAN Bring a Civil Claim: The Doors That Survive Feres
Feres is broad, but it is not absolute. There are several categories of claims that service members, veterans, and military families can still pursue in civil court, and in these areas, the firm’s trial practice is directly applicable. If you or a family member falls into one of these categories, we can help. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we win.
USERRA Claims. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq., protects service members from employment discrimination based on their military service. If an employer fails to rehire a returning service member, denies promotion, retaliates, or otherwise discriminates, USERRA provides a federal cause of action. USERRA claims are NOT barred by Feres because they are not tort claims against the government — they are statutory employment claims against private or public employers. The statute of limitations is not the typical two-year period; USERRA requires claimants to file a complaint with the Department of Labor within 90 days of the violation, and if that does not resolve the matter, a lawsuit must be filed in federal court within four years. We have handled employment discrimination matters and can evaluate whether a USERRA claim exists in your situation.
SCRA Claims. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq., provides a range of protections for active-duty service members, including limits on interest rates (6% cap on pre-service debts), protections against default judgments, restrictions on lease terminations, and prohibitions on certain collection actions. SCRA violations give rise to private rights of action, and successful plaintiffs can recover actual damages plus attorney’s fees. If a creditor, lender, or collection agency has violated your SCRA rights, the claim is yours to pursue in federal court, and it is not Feres-barred. The typical statute of limitations for an SCRA claim is two years under the parallel Texas limitations period (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003).
Civilian Medical Malpractice. If a service member receives medical care at a civilian facility — a non-military hospital, a civilian urgent care, a private surgical center — and is injured by negligence, the resulting claim is against the civilian provider and is NOT barred by Feres. Feres applies to injuries incident to military service; care received at a civilian facility is generally not incident to service for Feres purposes. Veterans who receive care through the VA are subject to a different (and more limited) remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act with its own administrative-exhaustion requirement. But if you were hurt by a non-VA, non-military provider, the claim is alive. Our brain injury practice and general personal injury practice are directly applicable to catastrophic injuries caused by civilian medical negligence.
Third-Party Tortfeasor Claims. If a service member is injured by a third party’s negligence in circumstances that are NOT incident to military service, the claim survives. A drunk driver who hits a service member on a Saturday off-duty drive, a defective product that injures a service member’s family at home, a negligent premises owner whose property injures a veteran during a civilian outing — these claims are ordinary personal injury or wrongful death cases, and they are not Feres-barred. Our full civil trial practice — from 18-wheeler crashes to wrongful death to motorcycle accidents — applies. If you are a veteran or a service member injured by a third party in a non-military context, the full weight of our trial team is available.
Civilian Crime Victims. If a service member or military family member is the victim of a crime committed by a civilian — assault, sexual assault by a non-service-member, drunk driving by a non-service-member — the claim is against the perpetrator and is not Feres-barred. Crime victim compensation funds exist at the state level (in Texas, through the Office of the Attorney General) and can provide immediate financial assistance regardless of military status.
These are the categories where the law still gives you a path, and these are the categories where we can be useful. We do not handle Feres-barred combat-injury cases. We do handle the claims listed above with the same trial-team intensity we bring to every case — and as Ralph Manginello, our managing partner with 27+ years of courtroom experience, often says, the hardest cases are usually the ones that reward the most preparation.
How Attorney911 Helps Texas Service Members and Veterans: Honest Scope, Real Capability
We are a Texas trial firm. Ralph Manginello, our managing partner, has spent 27+ years in courtrooms, including federal court, fighting for Texas families. He was a journalist before he was a lawyer, which is why he explains things the way a storyteller does, and he has recovered more than $50 million for Texas families since 1998. Those results depend on the facts of each case, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes — but the standard we hold ourselves to does not change with the case.
Lupe Peña, our associate attorney, spent years inside a national insurance-defense firm before he crossed to the plaintiff side. He knows how insurance companies code claims, how they value injuries, and how their software is used to deny and delay. He is fully fluent in Spanish and serves Texas military families in either language. He understands what it means to be told “no” by a bureaucracy that is supposed to serve you, because he has watched that same bureaucracy operate from the inside.
Together, our firm handles the civil cases that surround military service — the car and truck crashes that injure service members off duty, the workers’ compensation claims for those who take civilian jobs, the insurance bad-faith cases that arise when carriers refuse to honor valid claims, the USERRA and SCRA violations that punish service for serving, and the medical malpractice cases where civilian providers cause catastrophic harm. We also handle the brain injury cases that can result from any of these incidents — the kind of injury that looks invisible on a clean CT scan but reshapes a family’s life at the dinner table.
If your situation involves a combat injury that is Feres-barred, we will tell you that clearly and refer you to the military legal resources listed below. If your situation involves a USERRA violation, an SCRA violation, a civilian medical malpractice case, a third-party injury, or an insurance claim dispute, we can help — and the consultation is free, confidential, and available 24/7 at 1-888-ATTY-911. We serve Texas families in English and in Spanish — Hablamos Español.
Evidence and Documentation: What to Preserve, Even When There Is No Civil Case
Even when a combat-injury case is Feres-barred, the evidence that supports the benefits pathway is the evidence that supports the family’s long-term stability. The Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the military services each maintain records that you will need throughout your life, and you should know what they are, who holds them, and how to get copies before the urgency passes.
Military Medical Records. Every treatment received at a military treatment facility — from the forward surgical team that first stabilized Major Turnbull in Syria, to the 23 surgeries at BAMC and other facilities, to the rehabilitation at the Center for the Intrepid — is documented in the military medical record. These records are retained permanently by the individual service’s medical record system, and they are the primary evidence for every benefits claim. If you are a wounded service member, request a complete copy of your medical record from your service’s medical records office now — do not wait until you need it for a claim.
DD Form 214 and Personnel Records. The DD-214 is the discharge document that records your service dates, rank, awards, and characterization of discharge. It is the single most important document for establishing veteran status and benefits eligibility. Your official military personnel file (OMPF) contains performance reports, award citations, and deployment orders. Both are retained permanently by the National Archives (NARA) and can be requested through the eVetRecs system. Keep your own copies.
Line of Duty (LOD) Determination. For any injury that occurs off duty or in circumstances that could be questioned, the service conducts a Line of Duty investigation. The resulting LOD determination is critical evidence for VA claims and for CRSC eligibility. Request a copy through your unit’s adjutant or personnel office.
Award Orders and Combat Zone Documentation. Campaign medals, combat action badges, and unit award citations all document service in a combat zone. These are essential for CRSC applications and for establishing the combat-related nature of a disability. Your awards records are in your OMPF.
AR 15-6 Investigation Reports. When a serious incident occurs, the Army (and sister services have parallel procedures) may convene an AR 15-6 investigation. The resulting report documents the facts of the incident. These reports are controlled by the service, are often classified, and are not generally available to the service member. However, the existence of an investigation and its key findings are usually reflected in the LOD determination and in the medical record.
For Adjacent Civil Claims. If your situation involves a USERRA, SCRA, civilian malpractice, or third-party tort claim, the standard evidence-preservation rules apply. The 2-year statute of limitations under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 begins to run from the date of injury or violation, and the preservation letter should go out immediately. Photographs, medical records, employment records, and witness statements are the building blocks. Our firm sends same-day preservation letters and conducts full records demands for the cases we accept.
The “Insurance” Playbook in a Combat-Injury Context: VA Denial Tactics and How to Counter Them
There is no insurance adjuster calling a combat-injured service member with a recorded-statement trap. But the VA claims process, and the broader military administrative system, has its own playbook — a set of bureaucratic moves that systematically undervalue claims and delay benefits. We have watched this playbook from the outside, and we have seen how families without representation are most often its targets. Three plays come up again and again.
Play 1: The Low Initial Disability Rating. The VA assigns disability ratings that determine monthly compensation, and the rater’s first instinct is often to assign the minimum rating consistent with the medical evidence. A veteran with PTSD from a combat deployment may receive a 10% rating when the symptoms are consistent with a 70% rating. A veteran with traumatic brain injury may receive a 0% rating (no compensation) when the residuals are clearly compensable. The low rating locks in for months while an appeal is pending, and many veterans accept the low rating rather than fight. The counter: submit a private medical evaluation from a provider experienced in VA disability examinations, supported by detailed buddy statements and a clear narrative medical opinion. The VA’s own examination is only one piece of evidence; an independent opinion can tip the balance.
Play 2: The “Not Service-Connected” Denial. The VA denies claims by finding that the current disability is not service-connected — that is, not caused or aggravated by military service. This is the single most common reason for denial of combat-related claims, and it is often wrong on the facts. A combat veteran with a current diagnosis and a clear in-service event should not be denied on a service-connection basis. The counter: the combat-incurrence presumption, the buddy statement, and the clear medical nexus letter are the weapons. If the VA denies on a service-connection basis, appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals with a strong legal brief — do not accept the denial.
Play 3: The Delay Strategy. VA claims can take months or years to adjudicate, and during that time the veteran receives no compensation. The delay is often the strategy: many veterans give up, accept whatever the VA eventually offers, or become discouraged from filing appeals. The counter: file the complete claim initially with all supporting evidence, request the decision in writing, and use the Veterans Affairs accredited representative or attorney system to keep the claim moving. Congress has imposed target adjudication timeframes; when the VA misses them, that becomes part of the appeal record.
For the adjacent civil claims where our firm represents clients — USERRA, SCRA, medical malpractice, third-party tort — the playbook is the one Lupe Peña watched from the inside for years as a defense attorney: the recorded-statement call designed to get you to say “I’m feeling okay,” the quick lowball offer before your treatment is complete, the surveillance of your social media, the selection of a friendly company doctor. Each of those plays has a counter, and we walk every client through them. The recorded-statement counter is simple: do not give one. The quick-settlement counter is simpler: do not sign anything before the full picture of your injury is clear. The social-media counter is to assume the adjuster is watching. The company-doctor counter is to see your own doctor and follow their advice.
Resources for Wounded Warriors and Military Families in Texas
The legal pathway is one part of the picture. The medical, rehabilitative, and community support systems are the other parts, and Texas is home to some of the nation’s best. If you are a wounded service member or a military family in Texas, these resources exist to help you.
Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) and the Center for the Intrepid. Located at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, BAMC is the Army’s premier medical facility and one of the Department of Defense’s flagship trauma and rehabilitation centers. The Center for the Intrepid (CFI), part of BAMC, is a state-of-the-art outpatient rehabilitation center specializing in the care of military personnel who have sustained traumatic brain injuries, amputations, burns, or other catastrophic injuries. If you are a wounded warrior, the CFI should be on your radar.
Warrior Care and Transition Program. The Army’s Warrior Care and Transition Program operates Warrior Transition Units (WTUs) and Community Care Units (CCUs) that provide personalized care management for seriously wounded, ill, and injured soldiers. The program coordinates medical care, rehabilitation, and transition assistance.
Texas Veterans Commission (TVC). The TVC is the state agency responsible for assisting Texas veterans in accessing state and federal benefits, including VA disability compensation, education benefits, employment services, and healthcare. TVC claims coaches can help you navigate the VA claims process at no cost.
Veterans Service Organizations. The Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and American Legion all have trained, VA-accredited claims representatives who can help you file and pursue your VA claims at no cost. These organizations are often the single most valuable resource for a combat-injured service member navigating the VA system.
Wounded Warrior Project and Travis Mills Foundation. These nonprofit organizations provide non-legal support services — including peer support, wellness programs, caregiver support, and adaptive sports programs — for severely wounded post-9/11 veterans. The Warrior Games itself, in which Major Turnbull is competing, is one of the signature events of the military adaptive sports community.
Military Legal Assistance Offices. Every major military installation has a legal assistance office staffed by JAG (Judge Advocate General) officers who provide free legal services to service members and their families on a range of matters, including military pay, family law, consumer issues, and tax. They cannot represent you in a civilian case, but they can help with many of the legal issues that arise around military service.
These resources are not legal advice, and they are not a substitute for an attorney where one is needed. But they are the community that has been built around wounded warriors, and the families who use them are the families who tend to do best over the long term.
Why We Wrote This Page
Most law firm websites would not publish a page like this. A page that tells you, in plain language, that we cannot help you with the case you came here asking about, is not a page that converts. But it is a page that respects you. The Warrior Games will produce more search interest in military and veteran legal issues in the next month than at any other point in the year. The people searching are service members, veterans, and military family members who deserve an honest answer, not a sales pitch.
We wrote this page because the most useful thing a law firm can do for a wounded warrior is tell the truth about what the law does and does not provide, point them to the resources that can actually help, and offer our own services only where we can genuinely be of use. If you are one of the people for whom we can be of use — a USERRA violation, an SCRA issue, a civilian medical malpractice case, a third-party injury, an insurance dispute — we want to hear from you. The consultation is free, there is no fee unless we win, and we are available 24/7 at 1-888-ATTY-911. We serve Texas families in English and in Spanish. Hablamos Español.
If you are one of the people for whom we cannot be of use — a combat-injured service member seeking a civil recovery that Feres bars — we hope this page has given you a clearer picture of what the law does, what benefits are available, and where to turn. Major Turnbull’s story is not a story the tort system will resolve. It is a story the military compensation system, the VA benefits system, and the wounded warrior community will carry. We honor that story by being clear about what we can and cannot do, and by being honest about it on the record.
You can learn more about our firm’s practice and the attorneys who lead it on our Ralph Manginello and Lupe Peña pages, and you can review the full scope of our practice areas to see whether your situation falls within them. Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes. The page you are reading is legal information, not legal advice for your specific situation. To get legal advice, call us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Feres doctrine in simple terms?
The Feres doctrine is a 1950 United States Supreme Court decision that bars active-duty service members from suing the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries that arise out of or are incident to their military service. In practice, this means that if you are injured during military service — whether in combat, in training, in a military hospital, or on a military installation — you generally cannot bring a civil negligence claim against the United States, even if the government’s negligence was clear. Feres has been the law for over 75 years, and it has been reaffirmed by the Supreme Court multiple times. The doctrine remains controversial, and legislation to narrow it has been introduced repeatedly in Congress, but it has not been overruled.
Can a service member injured in combat sue the U.S. government for damages?
No, not in the vast majority of cases. The Feres doctrine bars civil tort claims by service members for combat injuries. The only defendants who could theoretically be sued — the enemy combatant or the foreign terrorist organization — are not subject to U.S. personal jurisdiction and have no recoverable U.S. assets. The combat-injured service member’s recovery pathway is through military administrative benefits (TSGLI, disability retirement, CRSC, SCAADL, VA disability), not through civil tort litigation. This is the hard truth of Feres, and any attorney who suggests otherwise is not being straight with you.
What is TSGLI and how much does it pay?
TSGLI stands for Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, a tax-free lump-sum benefit under 38 U.S.C. § 1980A. It pays between $25,000 and $100,000 for qualifying traumatic injuries, with the maximum $100,000 paid for the most severe losses — total blindness, loss of a limb, severe burns, paralysis, and similar catastrophic injuries. The application must be filed within two years of the injury, and the qualifying losses are specifically enumerated in the statute and regulations. Many service members miss this benefit simply because they are not aware of it or do not file in time.
What is CRSC and how does it work with VA disability?
CRSC stands for Combat-Related Special Compensation, authorized under 10 U.S.C. § 1413a. It is a tax-free monthly payment that compensates service members for disabilities that are combat-related, including injuries from hostile action, instruments of war, or hazardous military duty. CRSC is designed to restore income that would otherwise be lost when a service member waives a portion of military retired pay to receive VA disability compensation. For a service member with a high combat-related disability rating, CRSC can add thousands of dollars per month in tax-free income on top of other benefits. CRSC requires a separate application to your service’s CRSC office, and it is distinct from VA disability compensation.
What is the statute of limitations for a USERRA claim in Texas?
USERRA claims do not follow the typical two-year Texas personal injury limitations period. Under 38 U.S.C. § 4334, a USERRA complainant must first file a complaint with the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) at the U.S. Department of Labor. If the VETS investigation does not resolve the complaint within 90 days (or earlier if the Department issues a written decision), the complainant may then file a lawsuit in federal court. The federal lawsuit must be filed within four years of the violation. For an SCRA claim, the limitations period is generally two years under the parallel state limitations period, which in Texas is Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. Timing matters in both contexts — if you believe your rights have been violated, do not wait to seek advice.
Can a veteran sue a civilian doctor for medical malpractice?
Yes, if the care was received at a civilian facility. The Feres doctrine applies to injuries incident to military service, and care received at a military treatment facility or through the VA is generally Feres-barred. But care received at a non-military, non-VA civilian hospital or provider is subject to ordinary state malpractice law. In Texas, that means a two-year statute of limitations under § 16.003, expert report requirements under the Texas Medical Liability Act, and the full range of damages available in a Texas personal injury case. Our brain injury practice and general personal injury practice apply to these cases.
What if a service member is hit by a drunk driver off duty?
A drunk-driving case involving an off-duty service member is an ordinary Texas personal injury case. The service member is a Texas citizen injured by a negligent driver on a Texas road, the case is brought against the at-fault driver and their insurance, and the full damages — economic, non-economic, and potentially punitive — are available. Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule (51% bar) applies, the two-year statute of limitations under § 16.003 runs, and the same trial-lawyer playbook we bring to every drunk-driving case applies. Military status does not bar the claim, and the Feres doctrine is not implicated. We handle these cases regularly, and we can help.
Does the firm help with VA disability claims?
Our firm does not represent clients in VA disability claims, which are administrative proceedings before the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA claims are handled by VA-accredited claims representatives — most often attorneys accredited by the VA, claims agents, or veterans service organizations like the DAV, VFW, and American Legion. The Texas Veterans Commission also provides free claims assistance. We can refer you to accredited representatives in your area, and we are happy to do so. Our firm’s trial practice focuses on the civil cases that surround military service — the third-party injury cases, the insurance disputes, the employment violations — where our courtroom experience translates directly into results for the client.
What is SCAADL and who qualifies for it?
SCAADL stands for Special Compensation for Assistance with Activities of Daily Living, a tax-free monthly payment for service members who, as a result of a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty, require assistance from another person to perform activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, eating, or using the bathroom. The current maximum is approximately $4,000 per month. SCAADL is paid in addition to other military pay and disability compensation, and it is specifically designed to help families offset the cost of caregivers and the time required to support a catastrophically injured service member. Qualification is determined by a medical assessment and is reviewed periodically.
If Feres bars the case, why does this page exist on a law firm website?
Because the most useful thing a law firm can do for a combat-injured service member or a military family is tell the truth. We have built this firm’s reputation on being the page that ends searches, the page a reporter quotes, the page another lawyer reads. On this subject, that means being clear that Feres is real, the case is barred, the benefits pathway is the actual recovery, and the legal options that do exist (USERRA, SCRA, civilian malpractice, third-party injury) are where we can help. If you came to this page looking for a civil case against the government for a combat injury, we have not given you what you came for — and we have done so on purpose. If you came looking for a USERRA case, an SCRA case, a civilian malpractice case, or a third-party injury case, we can help. The consultation is free, there is no fee unless we win, and we are available 24/7 at 1-888-ATTY-911. We serve Texas families in English and in Spanish — Hablamos Español.