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Any branch of government – city, county, or state – employs hundreds
or even thousands of workers. These workers owe the public special
duties of care because of the department or agency they represent. The
government is supposed to protect its citizens. You might need an Indiana personal injury attorney to protect you from the Indiana government.
Remember
“Sovereign Immunity” from your high school Social Studies class? It’s a
legal limitation that says “You can’t sue the government.” The Indiana
Tort Claim Statute, however, says you can.
Anyone who works for a
government office or department is responsible for any public harm that
he or she causes. But that employee is an agent of the government;
therefore, the government is also responsible. That’s huge – if you’re
driving down the street and someone from the Indianapolis Department of
Public Works hits your car, that driver and DPW (a city agency) are
responsible for your personal injury! Why? Because the government and
its agents have a duty to keep the public safe from harm.
The
Statute doesn’t just apply to automobile-related accidents. Any
accident on government property due to negligence and any overtly
illegal act committed by a government employee that results in personal
injury or death is subject to this law.
Suppose that:
• you slip in water and fall on the Statehouse floor and State workers should have known about it and mopped it up;
• an officer of the County Sheriff’s Department punches you because you say something he doesn’t like;
•
you fall on the floor when expecting to sit at the County Assessor’s
Office because a distracted employee moves your chair when she should
have known that you would re-seat yourself; or
• you’re walking on City property and you fall into a hole that should have been seen and filled by City employees.
You can sue.
Filing
is simple: there is a one-page form, available online, that anyone with
a claim can fill out. You must provide copies of all medical receipts
and bills related to your personal injury with the form. Send a copy to
the state at the Indiana Attorney General’s Office and the Offices of
Corporation Counsel for your city and your county; check for specific
addresses. In city-counties, there is only one Corporation Counsel.
Otherwise,
it’s a personal injury case: you provide documentation, like police and
accident reports, and names of witnesses to the incident. All of this
is requested on the form.
There is one little-known trick to
filing that is harsh: you have 180 days from the date of you injury, 6
months, to file or be barred from ever filing that claim. Normal
personal injury cases allow two years before a case is time-barred.
The
up-side, however, is amazing: as of January 1, 2008, the maximum award
you can request is $700,000. If someone or all die in a car wreck in
which a government worker is responsible, the maximum award is
$5,000,000. See why making that deadline is so important? Remember to
ask for the maximum; the worst they can do is bargain down.
It
doesn’t take long from start to finish. The City-County of
Indianapolis, for instance, has 90 days to process a claim. If the
claim is found to be valid, you will receive settlement paperwork. Fill
it out, send it back; 5-7 weeks after the Corporation Counsel receives
your settlement paperwork, you get a check.
If you lose, you can
appeal, but do so immediately. You will receive information about
appeals if you receive a letter of denial.
The lessons: remember
where and by whom you were injured, act quickly, appeal if you’re
denied, and YES, you CAN sue the government!
Please note: This
article is not intended as legal advice. Please consult an attorney
before making any major decisions regarding a law suit.
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