Frankel v. United States
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
321 F. Supp. 1331 (1970)
Marilyn Heym suffered severe, irreversible injuries in a collision with a U.S. Army employee's vehicle; her guardian Frankel and mother Heym (plaintiffs) sued the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act for lost earnings, injuries, and medical expenses, including lifelong future institutional care given her 54.7-year life expectancy. Frankel argued the future-care award should reflect inflation and not be discounted to present value; the government argued the award should instead be structured as a disbursing trust fund and discounted to present value.
Whether an award for future medical expenses under the Federal Tort Claims Act should be paid as a lump sum.