THE FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT (FTCA)
This course provides an overview of the FTCA.
It first discusses the events and policy concerns that led Congress to enact the FTCA, including the background principle of sovereign immunity.
The course then explains the effect, scope, and operation of the FTCA’s waiver of the United States’ immunity from certain types of tort claims.
In doing so, the course describes categorical exceptions to the government’s waiver of sovereign immunity, statutory limitations on a plaintiff’s ability to recover monetary damages under the FTCA, and the procedures that govern tort claims against the United States.
Finally, we’ll conclude the course with a discussion of various legislative proposals to amend the FTCA.