Gomez v. United States of America

On March 6, 2025, the estate of deceased veteran Carlos Gomez, represented by his widow Maria Gomez, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The complaint alleged that physicians at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital committed medical malpractice by failing to diagnose Mr. Gomez’s aggressive form of cancer during multiple visits spanning 2023 to early 2024, leading directly to his terminal diagnosis and eventual death. The suit claimed the VA doctors deviated from the standard of care by ignoring persistent symptoms and radiological findings. The government initially moved to dismiss, arguing the discretionary function exception barred the claim, but the court allowed the case to proceed on the merits of the alleged negligence.

Pending; the District Court denied the government’s motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds in late 2025, ruling that the alleged acts of medical treatment were not protected by the discretionary function exception. The case is currently in the discovery phase as of June 2026.

Whether the United States is liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the alleged medical negligence of VA physicians, and specifically whether the misdiagnosis constituted a breach of the applicable standard of care that proximately caused the veteran’s death.

The case has intensified public and congressional scrutiny on the quality of care within the Veterans Health Administration. It has galvanized veterans’ advocacy groups demanding systemic accountability and reforms in VA diagnostic protocols, echoing broader concerns about veteran healthcare access and outcomes. The litigation is being closely watched as a benchmark for the scope of governmental liability in VA medical malpractice claims.