[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR750.3]

[Page 388-390]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
                   CHAPTER VI--DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
 
PART 750_GENERAL CLAIMS REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
                 Subpart A_General Provisions for Claims
 
Sec. 750.3  Investigations: The report.

    (a) Purpose. The purpose of investigations into claims incidents is 
to gather all relevant information about the incident so adjudicating 
officers can either pay or deny the claim. The essential task of the 
investigating officer is to answer the questions of who, what, where, 
when, why and how? The Navy's best interests are served when the 
investigation is thorough and is performed in a timely manner so the 
claimant can be advised promptly of the action on the claim.
    (b) Duties of the investigating officer. It is the investigating 
officer's responsibility:
    (1) To interview all witnesses to the incident and prepare summaries 
of their comments. Obtaining signed statements of Government witnesses 
is not necessary. Summaries of the witnesses' remarks prepared by the 
investigating officer are quite sufficient and generally expedite the 
gathering of information. On the other hand, written signed statements 
should be obtained from the claimant, wherever possible;
    (2) To inspect the property alleged to have been damaged by the 
action of Government personnel;
    (3) To determine the nature, extent, and amount of any damage, and 
to obtain pertinent repair bills or estimates and medical, hospital, and 
associated bills necessary to permit an evaluation of the claimant's 
loss;
    (4) To obtain maintenance records of the Navy motor vehicle, plane, 
or other piece of equipment involved in the claim;
    (5) To reduce to writing and incorporate into an appropriate 
investigative report all pertinent statements, summaries, exhibits, and 
other evidence considered by the investigator in arriving at his 
conclusions; and,
    (6) To furnish claim forms to any person expressing an interest in 
filing a claim and to advise such personnel where they should file their 
claim.
    (c) Content of the report. The written report of investigation shall 
contain information answering the questions mentioned in Sec. 750.3(a) 
and, depending on the nature of the incident, will include the 
following:
    (1) Date, time, and exact place the accident or incident occurred, 
specifying the highway, street, or road;
    (2) A concise but complete statement of the incident with reference 
to physical facts observed and any statements by the personnel involved;
    (3) Names, grades, organizations, and addresses of military 
personnel and civilian witnesses;
    (4) Opinions as to whether military or civilian employees involved 
in the incident were acting within the scope of their duties at the 
time;
    (5) Description of the Government property involved in the incident 
and the nature of any damage it sustained; and,
    (6) Descriptions of all private property involved.
    (d) Immediate report of certain events. The Navy or Marine Corps 
activity most directly involved in the incident shall notify the Judge 
Advocate General and the appropriate adjudicating authority immediately 
by message, electronic mail, or telephone in any of the following 
circumstances:
    (1) Claims or possible claims arising out of a major disaster or out 
of an incident giving rise to five or more possible death or serious 
injury claims.
    (2) Upon filing of a claim that could result in litigation that 
would involve a new precedent or point of law.
    (3) Claims or possible claims that involve or are likely to involve 
an agency other than the Department of the Navy.
    (e) Request for assistance. When an incident occurs at a place where 
the naval service does not have an installation or a unit conveniently 
located for conducting an investigation, the commanding officer or 
officer in charge with responsibility for performing the investigation 
may request assistance from the commanding officer or officer in charge 
of any other organization of the Department of Defense. Likewise, if a 
commanding officer or officer in

[[Page 389]]

charge of any other organization of the Department of Defense requests 
such assistance from a naval commanding officer or officer in charge, 
the latter should normally comply. If a complete investigation is 
requested it will be performed in compliance with the regulations of the 
requested service. These investigations are normally conducted without 
reimbursement for per diem, mileage, or other expenses incurred by the 
investigating unit or installation.
    (f) Report of Motor Vehicle Accident, Standard Form 91. RCS OPNAV 
5100-6. The operator of any Government motor vehicle involved in an 
accident of any sort shall be responsible for making an immediate report 
on the Operator's Report of Motor Vehicle Accident, Standard Form 91. 
This operator's report shall be made even though the operator of the 
other vehicle, or any other person involved, states that no claim will 
be filed, or the only vehicles involved are Government owned. An 
accident shall be reported by the operator regardless of who was 
injured, what property was damaged, or who was responsible. The 
operator's report shall be referred to the investigating officer, who 
shall be responsible for examining it for completeness and accuracy and 
who shall file it for future reference or for attachment to any 
subsequent investigative report of the accident.
    (g) Priority of the investigation. To ensure prompt investigation of 
every incident while witnesses are available and before damage has been 
repaired, the duties of an investigating officer shall ordinarily have 
priority over any other assignments he may have.
    (h) Contents of the report of investigation. The report should 
include the following items in addition to the requirements in Sec. 
750.3(c):
    (1) If pertinent to the investigation, the investigating officer 
should obtain a statement from claimant's employer showing claimant's 
occupation, wage or salary, and time lost from work as a result of the 
incident. In case of personal injury, the investigating officer should 
ask claimant to submit a written statement from the attending physician 
setting forth the nature and extent of injury and treatment, the 
duration and extent of any disability, the prognosis, and the period of 
hospitalization or incapacity.
    (2) A Privacy Act statement for each person who was asked to furnish 
personal information shall be provided. Social Security numbers of 
military personnel and civilian employees of the U.S. Government should 
be included in the report but should be obtained from available records, 
not from the individual.
    (3) Names, addresses, and ages of all civilians or military 
personnel injured or killed; names of insurance companies; information 
on the nature and extent of injuries, degree of permanent disability, 
prognosis, period of hospitalization, name and address of attending 
physician and hospital, and amount of medical, hospital, and burial 
expenses actually incurred; occupation and wage or salary of civilians 
injured or killed; and names, addresses, ages, relationship, and extent 
of dependency of survivors of any such person fatally injured should be 
included.
    (4) If straying animals are involved, a statement as to whether the 
jurisdiction has an ``open range law'' and, if so, reference to such 
statute.
    (5) A statement as to whether any person involved violated any State 
or Federal statute, local ordinance, or installation regulation and, if 
so, in what respect. The statute, ordinance, or regulation should be set 
out in full.
    (6) A statement on whether a police investigation was made. A copy 
of the police report of investigation should be included if available.
    (7) A statement on whether arrests were made or charges preferred, 
and the result of any trial or hearing in civil or military courts.
    (i) Expert opinions. In appropriate cases the opinion of an expert 
may be required to evaluate the extent of damage to a potential 
claimant's property. In such cases the investigating officer should 
consult Navy-employed experts, experts employed by other departments of 
the U.S. Government, or civilian experts to obtain a competent 
assessment of claimant's damages or otherwise to protect the 
Government's interest. Any cost involved with obtaining the opinion of 
an expert not employed by the Navy shall be borne by the command 
conducting the investigation. Any cost

[[Page 390]]

involved in obtaining the opinion of a Navy-employed expert shall be 
borne by the command to which the expert is attached. Medical experts 
shall be employed only after consultation with the Chief, Bureau of 
Medicine and Surgery.
    (j) Action by command initiating the investigation and subsequent 
reviewing authorities. (1) The command initiating the investigation in 
accordance with Sec. 750.3 or Sec. 750.5 shall review the report of 
investigation. If additional investigation is required or omissions or 
other deficiencies are noted, the investigation should be promptly 
returned with an endorsement indicating that a supplemental 
investigative report will be submitted. If the original or supplemental 
report is in order, it shall be forwarded by endorsement, with any 
pertinent comments and recommendations. An advance copy of the 
investigation shall be forwarded to the Naval Legal Service Command 
activity having territorial responsibility for the area where the 
incident giving rise to the claim occurred as indicated in Sec. 
750.34(c)(2)(ii).
    (2) A reviewing authority may direct that additional investigation 
be conducted, if considered necessary. The initial investigation should 
not be returned for such additional investigation, but should be 
forwarded by an endorsement indicating that the supplemental material 
will be submitted. The report shall be endorsed and forwarded to the 
next-level authority with appropriate recommendations including an 
assessment of the responsibility for the incident and a recommendation 
as to the disposition of any claim that may subsequently be filed. If a 
reviewing authority may be an adjudicating authority for a claim 
subsequently filed, one copy of the report shall be retained by such 
authority for at least 2 years after the incident.
    (3) It is essential that each investigative report reflect that a 
good faith effort was made to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a) as implemented by 32 CFR part 701, subpart F. Any 
indication of noncompliance shall be explained either in the preliminary 
statement or the forwarding endorsements and, when required, corrected. 
The adjudicating Naval Legal Service Command activity listed in Sec. 
750.34(c)(2)(ii) has the responsibility to ensure that remedial action 
is taken to rectify noncompliance indicated in the investigative report 
prior to forwarding the report to the Judge Advocate General.