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Skwira v. United States
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Opinion
344 F.3d 64 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Sep 15, 2003
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Skwira v. United States
E.D. New York · Feb 11, 2025
D. Massachusetts · Jan 7, 2025
D. Maine · Jan 7, 2025
Parentheticals
concluding that claim accrued when, among other factors, government asked family's permission to exhume body and family was told that the listed cause of death was incorrect
explaining that the ultimate conclusion regarding timeliness of FTCA claims presents a question of law
noting that district court “enjoys broad authority to order discovery, consider extrinsic evidence, and hold evidentiary hearings in order to determine its own jurisdiction.”
noting that “in the medical malpractice context[] . . . one need not know of a governmental causal connection for a claim to accrue under the FTCA.”
holding that where the family was aware of an ongoing investigation into the high number of deaths at the ward where decedent died, the cause of action accrued after the autopsy, when the family first learned decedent’s cause of death differed from that listed on the death certificate
noting that whether an FTCA claim is time-barred is a matter of law
holding discovery rule applicable to wrongful death claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) despite statutory language 4 The Second Circuit also rejected the proposition that the Supreme Court’s decision in Gabelli v. SEC, 133 S. Ct. 1216 (2013
finding the factual basis of a claim is "inherently unknowable" when there are no facts discoverable through the exercise of reasonable diligence for a plaintiff to reasonably believe there may be a connection
the "degree of knowledge of injury and cause that would prompt a reasonable person to take ... protective steps will vary with the circumstances of the case"
"lower federal courts 'generally apply a discovery rule when a statute is silent on the issue.' "
the “degree of knowledge of injury and cause that would prompt a reasonable person to take ... protective steps will vary with the circumstances of the case”
“One does not have to be certain of actionability in order to submit an administrative claim.”