Nurse attacked at work can’t sue federal government: Court

A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs nurse who was attacked while treating a patient cannot sue the federal government in part because she was compensated by its workers compensation program, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

A nurse suffered muscle strains, nerve damage, chronic pain and emotional injuries after a patient attacked her 2020, court papers say.

She sued the U.S. government, the VA and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under the Federal Tort Claims Act, “for failing to warn her about the patient’s violent tendencies and provide her with a bodyguard,” according to Civil Action No. 2023-3538, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case on various grounds, including subject matter jurisdiction and failure to file within the two-year statute of limitations, because the suit was filed in 2023.

The judge ruled in favor of the federal government on all counts, adding that the exclusive remedy provisions in the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, which covers workplace injuries suffered by federal employees, prohibits the nurse from suing.

“Plaintiff tries to circumvent the FECA’s exclusivity framework by claiming emotional injuries, but this effort fails,” the judge wrote, adding that per case law, “this is ‘of no matter.’ Once the Secretary of Labor determines that the FECA applies to an employee’s claim, that ‘settles the matter,’ and exclusivity attaches.”