Have you been injured in a car accident and believe that it was a government owned vehicle that was involved? You may be able to obtain compensation if you can prove that the driver was acting in a negligent manner. Normally, it can be quite difficult winning a compensation claim against a government entity, but it is not impossible if you get legal advice and help from a personal injury attorney who has experience suing a city or the state government.
City and State Laws Regarding Government Personal Injury Claims
If you intend filing a claim for compensation with a government department agency, whether it is the city or the state government, you will have to follow the rules which govern tort claims laws.
As is the case in many other states, sovereign immunity, the principle which protects government entities from being sued, is waived if negligence is involved in an accident involving an employee of the state or a NC city as long as the act of negligence wasn’t performed deliberately. For example, if your car was hit by an employee in a fit of road rage, you may not be able to claim against the city, but could file a personal injury claim against the individual employee.
If you are injured by a government employee or agency, you will need to inform the city that you intend to make a claim. This is done by a ‘notice of claim.’ The relevant form and instructions for filling it will be found on the city website. The completed form together with all supporting information should be sent to the office of the State Industrial Commission, whether it is a city or state claim.
If this initial notice of claim is denied or ignored, you can move on to filing a personal injury claim against the city as long as this is done within 3 years of the injury.
Potential Car Accident Causes
Every city and state agency has at least one vehicle and possibly many more. You could be injured if you were hit by any of these vehicles. There may be exceptions. For example, if you were injured after a collision with a city police car which was involved in an emergency pursuit, the city may not be liable. If the police car had hit your vehicle while it was cruising around and the driver wasn’t paying attention, then you may have grounds for a claim.
Other causes of car accidents that involve government property include poor road surfaces assuming this is due to lack of maintenance), or unstable structures on a government building falling on your vehicle.
Accidents involving a City Bus
Realistically, if you have been involved in an accident with a city owned or leased vehicle, then the chances are that it was with a city operated bus. Bus accidents are not common, but do happen from time to time. The five main causes of bus accidents are as follows:
- driver error. This may be distracted driving, inattentiveness, speeding, failure to signal intention when changing lanes or moving from a stop, drug or alcohol use or fatigue.
- failure to maintain a bus according to schedule;
- use of defective parts, the failure of which causes an accident;
- driver forced to swerve because of another vehicle’s movements;
- fault due to driver’s response together with error on the part of a third party;
- poor road surface caused the bus to hit your vehicle;
- road surface condition due to failure to maintain the road adequately.
Use an Experienced Attorney if Considering Claiming Against the City
Filing any personal claim is never easy. You must be able to prove that negligence was involved and link the party at fault with your injury conclusively. A claim against a city entity just makes the whole claim process more difficult still. You are strongly advised not to proceed with a claim without legal advice and help. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as you can after recovering from the injury.
Additional Resources
Auto Accident Resources in Raleigh
Driving Laws in North Carolina
Disclaimer
The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against the city of Raleigh, or the state government of North Carolina, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
