What is the Federal Tort Claims Act?
The Federal Tort Claims Act or FTCA allows private parties to sue the United States government when its employees are acting on behalf of the United States. Basically, the FTCA provides a limited waiver of sovereign immunity by the U.S. government: at its heart the FTCA represents a waiver of sovereign immunity, which flows from Old English common law. Liability under the FTCA is limited to “circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). The FTCA exempts, among other things, claims based upon the performance, or failure to perform, a “discretionary function or duty.” 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a). The FTCA also exempts several intentional torts, although the United States may be liable for specific intentional torts such as assault, battery, and false imprisonment, if committed by federal law enforcement officers. 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h). Generally the right
