In the United States v. Kubrick case of 1979, the Supreme Court ruled on a medical malpractice claim against the U.S government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The plaintiff, William Kubrick, had been treated with an antibiotic by a Veterans' Administration hospital in 1968 which led to hearing loss. He became aware of this fact in January 1969 but did not know it was due to possible negligence until he spoke with another doctor more than two years later. His lawsuit filed in December 1971 was dismissed as untimely because FTCA requires tort claims be filed within two years from when damage occurs and is discovered or should have been discovered through reasonable diligence. The Supreme Court upheld this decision stating that "a plaintiff's ignorance of his legal rights and his ignorance of the fact of his injury or its cause" does not delay triggering FTCA’s time limit for filing suit. It held that Mr. Kubrick knew enough about potential harm caused by treatment at VA hospital when he first learned about hearing loss; thus, failure to investigate further into possible medical malpractice cannot extend statute limitations period.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Kubrick, Justice White disagreed with the majority's interpretation of the statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases involving government doctors. He argued that it was unfair to start the clock on filing a lawsuit from when a patient realizes they have been harmed rather than when they discover negligence was involved. In his view, patients are not typically equipped to understand whether their injuries were caused by negligent care or unavoidable complications without expert advice. Therefore, he believed that victims should be allowed more time to file claims after learning about potential misconduct during their treatment. This would ensure that individuals who suffer harm due to governmental negligence can seek redress even if they initially lack knowledge about medical standards and practices.