Federal tort claims may be challenging. A personal injury lawyer may be helpful. Tort claims are filed if you have been injured by a negligent government entity or employee. Several factors may prove difficult when filing these injury claims, which is why many turn to the assistance of an attorney to help them through the process.
Sovereign Immunity
A federal tort claim is difficult to file because of what’s called the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Derived from times past to immunize a king against legal action, this law has been adapted to reflect modern society. Now, it essentially states that a citizen cannot sue its government unless permitted to do so.
Sovereign immunity is designed to protect government entities and workers from being sued every time they displease someone while carrying out their legal duties. However, this doctrine doesn’t prevent claims against the government altogether. Thanks to the Federal Tort Claims Act, there are certain kinds of lawsuits that are allowable.
Generally, if the negligence that led to your injury occurred when the government entity or employee was acting outside of the realm of official duties, you may have a viable claim. In this case, you may be granted a waiver of sovereign immunity and will be able to proceed with your federal tort claim. To find out if your injury may lend itself to a waiver of sovereign immunity, it’s best to contact a DeKalb County, Ga. personal injury lawyer familiar with the process of filing claims against government entities.