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against any carriers liable for the damage under their
government contract.
. Adjudication.
Personnel claims adjudicating
authorities and their respective payment limits are listed
in section 7 of JAGINST 5890.1, encl. (5). For Marine
Corps personnel, personnel claims are adjudicated at
Headquarters, Marine Corps.
. Advance payments. When the claimant’s loss is
so great that the claimant immediately needs funds to
provide fundamental necessities of life, the adjudicating
authority
may
make an advance partial
payment—normally one-half of the estimated total
payment.
. Reconsideration.
The claimant may request
reconsideration of the claim, even though he or she has
accepted payment, if the claim was not paid in full. If
the adjudicating authority does not resolve the claim to
the claimant’s satisfaction, the request for
reconsideration is forwarded to the next higher
adjudicating authority. There is no right under the PCA
to sue the government.
. Effect of claimant’s insurance. If the claimant’s
property is insured in whole or in part, the claimant must
file a claim with the insurer as a precondition to recovery
under the PCA. The PCA is intended to supplement any
insurance the claimant has; it is not intended to be an
alternative to that insurance or to allow double recovery.
If the claimant receives payment under his or her
insurance policy for the claimed property damage, the
amount of such payment will be deducted from any
payment authorized on the PCA claim. Likewise, if the
claimant receives payment on his or her personnel
claim, and then is paid for the same loss by an insurance
company, the claimant must refund the amount of the
insurance payment to the federal government.
EXAMPLES
1. Facts.
Airman Hero was standing near the
hangar when an aircraft crashed while landing. An
officer told Hero to jump into a vehicle and go to the
crash scene to help out in any way he could. Airman
Hero immediately complied. At the scene, Airman Hero
assisted an injured crew member from the wreckage. In
doing so, Airman Hero badly ripped his uniform pants
on a jagged piece of debris, and the intense heat melted
the plastic case of his watch. Airman Hero has presented
a personnel claim for his pants and watch. Will he
collect?
Solution. Yes. Although damage to articles being
worn is not usually payable under the PCA, an exception
exists when the loss is caused by fire, flood, hurricane,
theft or vandalism, or other unusual circumstances. In
this case, Airman Hero was performing an official duty
in response to an aircraft disaster and suffered property
damage while trying to save lives. This situation meets
the requirements of unusual occurrence and, therefore,
the claim is payable.
2. Facts. While parked in an authorized parking
space during working hours, Seaman Rolledover’s
automobile was destroyed by a runaway government
steamroller operated by Mr. Pancake, a civilian Navy
employee acting in the scope of his employment. The
car, presently valued at $3,800, is a total loss. Seaman
Rolledover’s insurance policy does not cover
steamroller accidents, so Seaman Rolledover has filed a
personal claim for $3,800. Can he collect?
Solution. Yes (but not under the PCA), Although
this loss appears to be incident to service, collision
damage to automobiles is specifically excluded from
payment under the PCA. Like many other vehicle
collision claims, Seaman Rolledover’s claim is payable
under the MCA because his loss was caused by a federal
employee acting in the scope of employment. This
claim is not payable under the FTCA because the Feres
doctrine effectively prevents such claims by military
members. Where one act may not cover Seaman
Rolledover’s loss, another statute will. The fact that this
claim is not payable under the PCA actually works in
Seaman Rolledover’s benefit. Under the MCA, Seaman
Rolledover can recover the entire $3,800 he claimed.
Under the PCA, the maximum amount payable for
noncollision vehicle damage is usually only $2,000.
FOREIGN CLAIMS ACT
The Foreign Claims Act, 10 U.S.C. § 2734-2736
(1982) (FCA), provides compensation to inhabitants of
foreign countries for personal injury, death, or property
damage caused by, or incident to noncombat activities
of military personnel overseas.
Although the U.S.
Government’s scope of liability under the FCA is broad,
certain classes of claimants and certain types of claims
are excluded from the statute’s coverage. Procedures
for adjudicating an FCA claim are substantially different
from the general procedural pattern for other types of
claims against the government.
Chapter VIII, part B, of the JAG Manual prescribes
the requirements for the investigation and adjudication
of FCA claims.
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