Brunson-Malone v. United States

Background

Tanisha Brunson-Malone brought this Federal Tort Claims Act case against the United States based on an alleged slip and fall at the James J. Peters VA Hospital in the Bronx. At the time of the alleged incident, she was a Department of Veterans Affairs “Without Compensation” appointee working on a VA-supervised medical research project at the hospital.

The Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs had preliminarily determined that Brunson-Malone might be covered under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act for injuries resulting from the incident. The Government stated that, if she was covered by that law, the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act would prevent her from bringing the Federal Tort Claims Act action.

Request for an Additional Stay

The parties had previously agreed to stay the case for 90 days so Brunson-Malone could file a workers’ compensation claim and the Department of Labor could make a final determination about her coverage. In their July 25, 2022 status update, the parties reported that Brunson-Malone had not yet filed the claim, but her counsel had indicated that she planned to do so. They jointly requested another 90-day stay, through October 24, 2022.

The Government stated that, if Brunson-Malone did not file the workers’ compensation claim by October 24, 2022, it would move to dismiss the case for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).

Ruling

Judge Ona T. Wang granted the application. The case was stayed until October 24, 2022, and the parties were ordered to file a joint status letter by October 21, 2022. The order did not decide whether Brunson-Malone was covered by the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act or whether her Federal Tort Claims Act claim could proceed.