In plaintiff's action for wrongful death and loss of consortium under the Federal Tort Claims Act, district court's dismissal of the action is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err from making independent findings of fact and conclusions of law in plaintiff's FTCA proceeding because adjudication of plaintiff's claim would not affect the validity of her VA benefits award; and 2) the district court did not err in holding that there were no genuine issues of material fact since plaintiff conceded that she would not call any expert witnesses to prove her medical malpractice case, as required under North Carolina law.