Legal Opinion
Berkovitz v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided June 13, 1988No. 87-498PublishedCited by 1,816 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Marshall
The question in this case is whether the discretionary function exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA or Act), 28 U. S. C. § 2680(a), bars a suit based on the Government’s licensing of an oral polio vaccine and on its subsequent approval of the release of a specific lot of that vaccine to the public.
I
On May 10, 1979, Kevan Berkovitz, then a 2-month-old infant, ingested a dose of Orimune, an oral polio vaccine manufactured by Lederle Laboratories. Within one month, he contracted a severe case of polio. The disease left Berkovitz almost completely paralyzed and unable to breathe…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- Dalehite v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1953
- United States v. S.A. Empresa De Viacao Aerea Rio GrandenseSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Indian Towing Co. v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1955
- Rayonier Inc. v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1957
- Westfall v. ErwinSupreme Court of the United States · 1988
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3Cited by1,816 opinions
- Ben Gary Triestman v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States of AmericaCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 2006
- United States v. GaubertSupreme Court of the United States · 1991
- Jerome Stevens Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Food & Drug AdministrationCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 2005
- Rutan v. Republican Party of IllinoisSupreme Court of the United States · 1990
- Wyoming v. HoughtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1999
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