Can I Sue the Government for Causing My Florida Car Accident?
When it comes to a car accident, the negligent driver is often not the only party who can be held legally responsible for the victim’s injuries and other losses. If that negligent driver acted within the scope of their employment when the accident occurred, their employer can also be held vicariously liable under Florida law. To give a simple example, if a driver is making a delivery for her employer in a company-owned vehicle, runs a red light, and strikes another vehicle, the victims can file a personal injury lawsuit against both the driver and the employer.
Florida Judge Refuses to Dismiss Lawsuit Against USPS
But what if the driver works for a public rather than private employer? In other words, if the driver that hits you works for, say, Miami-Dade County or the United States government, can you sue those employers under vicarious liability? The answer is generally “yes,” although there is a catch. Suing a government agency means following a number of rules and procedures that do not apply to personal injury claims against individuals and privately held companies.
Basically, under American common law you cannot sue the government without its consent. This is known as “sovereign immunity.” Congress and the Florida Legislature, however, have waived their respective sovereign immunity when it comes to most personal injury claims. Thus, if you are injured in a car accident caused by someone acting within the scope of their government employment, you can sue the agency or municipality they work for, again, provided you follow certain procedures.
One such procedure is that before you can file a lawsuit, you must first present a formal written claim to the government agency in question. This may sound simple enough, but in practice, government officials often use the claim process to try and avoid answering legitimate personal injury complaints. And because the burden is on the claimant to prove they followed the rules, this can lead to litigation over whether the claimant checked all the proverbial boxes.
A recent decision from a federal judge here in Florida provides a good example. In this case, Vincent v. United States, the plaintiff sued the federal government, alleging she sustained injuries in a 2022 car accident involving a collision with a United States Postal Service truck. The plaintiff maintains the USPS driver’s negligence caused the accident.
The plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer filed the necessary written claim, known in the federal government as a SF-95 Form, and sent it to USPS. Six months later, USPS responded and asked the attorney to sign a document confirming he was the plaintiff’s lawyer. Instead of providing that document, the attorney proceeded to file a lawsuit on his client’s behalf.
USPS argued before the Court that this was grounds for dismissal. The government’s position was that the plaintiff’s failure to provide evidence of her attorney’s authority meant she failed to file a proper SF-95. The judge disagreed. He held the plaintiff’s claim was valid and that the absence of evidence “establishing a legal representative’s authority to file a claim does not constitute a jurisdictional prerequisite for bringing” a personal injury lawsuit under federal law. This meant the plaintiff’s case could proceed.
Contact a Miami Car Accident Lawyer Today
Even when you know you have a solid personal injury case, there are still a number of legal and procedural hurdles you often need to clear before you can receive compensation. Our Miami car accident attorneys can help you with this process. Contact Pita Weber Del Prado today at 305-670-2889 to schedule a free consultation.
Source:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5501731083878233275
