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. Submitted to a federal agency. The claim is not
properly presented until it is submitted to a federal
agency. The claim should be submitted to the agency
whose activities give rise to the claim. If the claim is
submitted to the wrong federal agency, that agency must
promptly transfer it to the appropriate one. Although
submission to any federal agency will stop the running
of the statute of limitations, the 6-month waiting period
does not begin until the claim is received by the
appropriate agency. That the United States is aware of
the potential claim or has actual notice does not relieve
the claimant of the requirement of presenting the claim
to a federal agency. Failure to formally present the
claim can result in the dismissal of an action in court.
Information and Supporting Documentation
Although the FTCA itself does not specify what
information and supporting documentation arc required
for validating the claim, administrative regulations
issued by the Attorney General of the United States and
the Judge Advocate General of the Navy require that the
claim include information such as the following:
l
l
l
l
A reasonably detailed description of the incident
on which the claim is based
The identity of the federal agencies, employees,
or property involved
A description of the nature and extent of personal
injury or property damage
Documentation of the loss (such as physicians’
reports, repair estimates, and receipts)
In some instances, failure to provide the required
information may result in a court ruling that the claim
was never properly presented. Minor technical failures
will not nullify the claim.
Prompt action is necessary when a command
receives a claim. The following steps must be taken:
1. Record the date of receipt on the claim.
2. Determine which military activity is most
directly involved.
3. When the receiving command is the activity
most directly involved, immediately connvene an
investigation according to chapter II of the JAG Manual
and, when the investigation is complete, promptly send
the report and the claim to the appropriate claims
adjudicating authority.
4. When the receiving command is not the activity
most directly involved, immediately send the claim to
the activity that is most directly involved.
5. Report to JAG, if required by the JAG Manual
or JAGINST 5890.1.
Investigation
A JAG Manual investigation is required whenever
a claim against the Navy is filed or is likely to be filed.
An investigation not requiring a hearing usually
suffices. Responsibility for convening and conducting
the investigation usually lies with the command most
directly involved in the incident upon which the claim
is based. When circumstances make it impractical for
the most directly involved command to conduct the
investigation, responsibility may be assigned to some
other command.
Because the government usually will have only 6
months in which to investigate and take final action on
the claim, the investigation must be done promptly.
Witnesses’ memories fade quickly and evidence can
become mislaid.
Moreover, failure to investigate
promptly could prejudice the government’s ability to
defend against the claim. A claim involving a command
is an urgent and important matter involving substantial
amounts of money.
Therefore, when a person is
appointed to investigate a claim, the investigation
ordinarily takes priority over all other duties.
The general duties of the claims investigating
officer include the following:
Considering all information and evidence
already compiled about the incident
Conducting a thorough investigation of all
aspects of the incident in a fair, impartial manner
Interviewing all the witnesses as soon as possible
Inspecting property damage and interviewing
injured persons
Determining the nature, extent, and amount of
property damage or personal injury and obtaining
supporting documentation
In addition to these general duties, the investigating
officer also must make specific findings of fact. Great
care must be used to make sure all relevant, required
findings of fact are made. A major purpose of the claims
investigation is to preserve evidence for use months,
even years, in the future. An incomplete investigation
can prejudice the government’s ability to defend against
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