The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), passed in 1946, waives governmental sovereign immunity in lawsuits against the U.S. government for injuries resulting from the negligent actions of government workers acting within the scope of their employment. Numerous other state laws have been fashioned this act, which contains a few exceptions. Among those: Claims based on the performance of a discretionary function or duty.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The term “discretionary function” is understood to mean a duty or function that necessarily requires the exercise of reason and discretion as to how, when or where the action should be done. Courts have struggled with interpreting this waiver because, to some extent, all most all duties require some discretion. Usually what is considered is whether mandatory regulations require certain specified conduct. So for example, there is some statute that indicates a government worker “shall” as opposed to “may” carry out some course of action. The second element is (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), passed in 1946, waives governmental sovereign immunity in lawsuits against the U.S. government for injuries resulting from the negligent actions of government workers acting within the scope of their employment. Numerous other state laws…<\/span><\/p>\n