Two patients of an Army doctor charged with sexual assault at Joint Base Lewis-McChord have started the process to file federal civil lawsuits against the Army and Defense Department, according to the patients’ attorneys.

The law firm Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP announced last week that it filed two separate administrative complaints under the Federal Torts Claims Act on behalf of John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, two former patients of Maj.

Michael Stockin.

The complaints were filed by one active-duty service member and one retired service member, said Jaime Baum, a spokesperson for the law firm.

The Army has received both complaints and “is reviewing them for legal sufficiency before investigating their factual allegations,” said Bryce Dubee, a spokesman for the Army. “No decision on how to respond will be made until the Army’s review is complete, and the claims have been investigated.

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Stockin, 37, is an anesthesiologist at Madigan Army Medical Center at the Army-Air Force installation in southwest Washington state.

The Army formally charged Stockin on Aug. 30 .

“The general nature of the charges includes abusive sexual contact and indecent viewing in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Lt. Col. Jennifer Bocanegra, a JBLM spokeswoman, said at the time.

The charges are under review by an independent officer who will announce the findings at a future pretrial hearing, she said.

Robert Capovilla, a former Army lawyer representing Stockin, said at this point the case remains early in the court-martial process.

“As far as we are aware, no victim advocate or the defense team has seen the entirety of discovery.

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