Brunson-Malone v. United States

Background

Tanisha Brunson-Malone brought this lawsuit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, a law that allows certain claims for injuries caused by federal employees. The claim arises from an alleged slip and fall at the James J. Peters VA Hospital in the Bronx.

The government stated that, at the time of the alleged incident, Brunson-Malone was a Department of Veterans Affairs “Without Compensation” appointee working on a VA-supervised medical research project. The Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs had preliminarily determined that she may be covered under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), the federal employee injury-compensation law. The government stated that, if FECA covers her injury, 5 U.S.C. § 8116(c) would bar her from pursuing the Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit.

Proceedings concerning the FECA claim

The parties previously agreed to stay, or pause, the lawsuit so Brunson-Malone could file a FECA claim and the Department of Labor could decide whether FECA covered her. The court granted extensions of that stay over time. Brunson-Malone notified the court on December 15, 2023, that she had filed a FECA claim concerning an injury allegedly sustained while leaving a bathroom at the VA hospital on March 18, 2021.

The Department of Labor then requested additional information. Its January 10, 2024 letter stated that the claim lacked enough supporting information or documentation and asked Brunson-Malone to complete a questionnaire about her relationship with the VA and provide a report from her attending physician. The Department held the claim open until March 10, 2024, for her to submit the requested material. The opinion states that she had not submitted it as of the date of the parties’ letter.

Ruling

The parties jointly requested an additional 60-day stay, through April 16, 2024, to give Brunson-Malone time to provide the requested information and to allow the Department of Labor to adjudicate the FECA claim. The court ordered the action stayed until April 16, 2024. The government noted that it might later move to dismiss the lawsuit if Brunson-Malone failed to provide the information and the government concluded that FECA covered her claim. The opinion does not decide whether FECA covers Brunson-Malone or whether her Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit ultimately may proceed.

The supplied case information identifies Lewis Kaplan as the judge, while the visible endorsement of the February 20, 2024 order is signed “T. Wang” and identifies Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang.