## Facts

- Christopher Lee Purcell, a 21-year-old active-duty Navy hospital corpsman, was stationed at Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine and lived in on-base barracks.
- Base authorities received a report that Purcell had a gun in his room and was threatening suicide.
- Department of Defense police and base security responded to the report and searched for the firearm but did not locate it.
- While responders were present, Purcell was allowed to go to a bathroom accompanied by a friend; once inside, he produced a gun from his waistband and shot himself in the chest.
- Michael Purcell, Christopher’s father, alleged military and DOD personnel were negligent in handling the suicide threat, including failing to find and secure the weapon, failing to follow applicable procedures, and failing to maintain adequate supervision.

## Issues

1. Whether an FTCA wrongful-death claim arising from an active-duty servicemember’s on-base suicide is barred by the Feres doctrine as an injury “incident to service.”
2. Whether adjudicating the negligence claims would require judicial inquiry into military decisions, procedures, or discipline such that Feres applies.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the action.
- The court held the claim was barred by the Feres doctrine because the death was incident to military service.
- The court reasoned that the decedent was on active duty, the injury occurred on a military base, and the challenged conduct involved military/DOD personnel acting in their official roles in managing a crisis involving an active-duty servicemember.
- The court rejected arguments that the case involved merely civilian-style negligence and that the absence of particular benefits to the family should alter the Feres analysis.

## Legal Principles

- The FTCA does not permit suits for injuries to servicemembers that arise out of or occur in the course of activity incident to service (Feres doctrine).
- “Incident to service” analysis commonly considers duty status, location of the injury, the activity’s relationship to military service, and whether litigation would require scrutiny of military judgments, discipline, or command decisions.
- Lower federal courts must apply Feres as controlling law unless changed by Congress or the Supreme Court; criticism of the doctrine does not authorize judicial exceptions.

## Conclusion

Because the decedent was an active-duty servicemember, the suicide occurred in on-base barracks, and the alleged negligence concerned official military/DOD response to a service-related crisis, the wrongful-death claim fell within the Feres bar and could not proceed under the FTCA.


Purcell v. United States, 656 F.3d 463 (7th Cir. 2011)