Page:United States Reports 502 OCT. TERM 1991.pdf/461

 502us2$23Z 08-19-96 17:41:21 PAGES OPINPGT

Cite as: 502 U. S. 301 (1992)

303

Opinion of the Court

Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court. This case requires us to determine the scope of the statutory prohibition on awards of “punitive damages” in cases brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U. S. C. §§ 2671–2680. I Petitioner Shirley Molzof is the personal representative of the estate of Robert Molzof, her late husband. On October 31, 1986, Mr. Molzof, a veteran, underwent lung surgery at a Veterans’ Administration hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. After surgery, he was placed on a ventilator. For some undisclosed reason, the ventilator tube that was providing oxygen to him became disconnected. The ventilator’s alarm system also was disconnected. As a result of this combination of events, Mr. Molzof was deprived of oxygen for approximately eight minutes before his predicament was discovered. Because of this unfortunate series of events, triggered by the hospital employees’ conceded negligence, Mr. Molzof suffered irreversible brain damage, leaving him permanently comatose. Mr. Molzof ’s guardian ad litem filed suit in District Court under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA or Act) seeking damages for supplemental medical care, future medical expenses, and loss of enjoyment of life. The Government admitted liability, and the case proceeded to a bench trial on the issue of damages. The District Court determined that the free medical care being provided to Mr. Molzof by the veterans’ hospital was reasonable and adequate, that Mrs. Molzof was satisfied with those services and had no intention of transferring Mr. Molzof to a private hospital, and that it was in Mr. Molzof ’s best interests to remain at the veterans’ hospital because neighboring hospitals could not provide a comparable level of care. In addition to ordering the veterans’ hospital to continue the same level of care, the court awarded Mr. Molzof damages for supplemental care—physi-