Personal injury claims and car accidents are already a headache. What happens when a person is struck negligently by a state employee driving a state-owned vehicle? Most states have sovereign immunity for vehicular accidents and in most areas of the law. The logic behind this is that if plaintiffs could sue the state for any malfeasance, they would, and the state would constantly be in litigation. In Idaho, sovereign immunity is only waived in limited circumstances, including tort claims for vehicular accidents. While these cases can be difficult to navigate, it is important a claim is filed correctly in order to recover damages. If you are seeking advice regarding a collision with a state-owned vehicle, our attorneys can help.
Understanding Sovereign Immunity
Our attorneys will investigate your case to identify if the driver and the government entity can be named as defendants. To determine if vicarious liability is applied from the state employee to the state entity itself, a test is applied. The general test set forth in numerous tort cases for determining if an employee’s tortious acts were within the scope of employment is whether they were in furtherance of the employer’s business and were ‘authorized’ by the employer. Id. Code §6-903 (2020). A joyride or rendezvous to get coffee, or a ride home, is not considered within the scope of the employment. This can prove to be an obstacle for a plaintiff intending to sue the negligent driver as well as the government entity employer. This is why it is critical to conduct proper fact-finding and determine the destination and conduct of the defendant driver to determine what claims and what defendants can be added to a suit.
In addition, if the employee is engaged in an unlawful act at the time of the incident, they are not acting within their scope of the employment, and the government can claim sovereign immunity. If the government employee was intoxicated at the time of the incident, it is unlikely that the employee would be found to be acting within the scope of employment even if driving a government vehicle at the time of the accident.
Filing Claims against Government Entities
If you and your attorney establish that sovereign immunity cannot be invoked, the next step is ensuring the claim is filed properly. In Idaho, the plaintiff must file a notice of tort claim with the local government or state government within 180 days, roughly five months after the injury. The notice should include a list of involved parties, list of claims, damages, facts regarding the injury, and conduct of the government employee defendant that contributed to the incident. You also cannot simply mail a complaint to the governor or secretary of state, instead the claimant must identify the proper department to file with, depending on the nature of the claim.
Contact Rocky Mountain Personal Injury Center Today
Filing a tort claim and naming the state of Idaho as a defendant is a tedious task. You should contact our attorneys as soon as possible to investigate the circumstances and determine whom is liable. After filing a complaint, our attorneys at Rocky Mountain Personal Injury Center will also prepare the notice of tort claim and ensure the proper entities are served. The basic principle of tort negligence means that if the defendant’s negligence was the proximate cause of the accident causing the plaintiff’s suffering, the plaintiff is entitled to damages, even if the defendant is a government actor. If you were involved in an accident with a government employee, contact our lawyers today to review your filing options.
