Trial Attorney Blog
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) waives sovereign immunity only for the acts or omissions of an “employee of the government while acting within the scope of his office or employment. . .” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). Because it is a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, the provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act are strictly construed and must be followed if a valid claim against the government is to be asserted under its provisions.
The provisions of the Act are found in Title 28 of the United States Code. 28 U.S..C § 1346(b); 1402(b); 2401(b); and 2671-2680. If someone is injured by the acts of a government employee, suit may not be brought against the agency or the employee but only against the United States as the named defendant. See 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). With regard to venue, suit may be brought in the judicial district where the plaintiff resides or where the act or omission occurred. There is no right to a jury trial as all such cases are decided by United Stated District Court Judges. If a claimant is injured by the acts of a government employee. such as a postal truck driver, the liability of the United States is the same as a private individual under like circumstances but in no event shall the government be liable for interest prior to judgment or punitive damages. See Molzof v. United States, 502 U.S. 301 (1992).
We have written before about some of the unique issues associated with these claims. One of the biggest problems is the failure to timely submit written administrative claim as is required by the act. Such an ante litem notice or administrative claim must be filed within two years of the date of the accident or occurrence. A proper notice, to be sufficient under the act, must be in writing and contain sufficient information for the agency to investigate the claim. A sum certain amount for damages must be specified and the claim must be submitted in writing. A claim is deemed presented when received by the agency, not when mailed by the claimant. Denial of a claim is the day its mailed and not when received by the claimant.
If an administrative claim is denied, suit may not be filed for an amount in excess of the amount claimed administratively except when newly discovered evidence, not reasonably discoverable at the time of presenting the claim to the federal agency or upon allegation and proof of intervening facts, relating to the amount of the claim.
Once a claim is submitted to the proper federal agency, the agency has six months to investigate and adjudicate a claim and suit may not be filed during this period. The denial of a claim must be in writing and sent by registered or certified mail and must be unequivocal in denying the claim. The claimant must be informed of the right to file suit within six months in the appropriate federal district court.
As we have stated earlier, one of the biggest problems in these cases is making sure that a Form 95 claim form is timely submitted to the appropriate federal agency. In the hypothetical accident case where a postal employee runs a stop sign, the claim must be submitted to the appropriate post office. The Postal Data Center in San Mateo, California handles claims up to $50,000.00. The Washington, D.C. Claims Division and Law Department handles claims typically above that amount. While a claim may be filed at any post office under 39 C.F.R. § 912.4, it is good practice to file it with the appropriate District Tort Claim Coordinator which usually has jurisdiction over either an entire state or a portion of a state. Thus, the initial administrative claim against the hypothetical postal driver would typically be filed at the post office where the mail delivery employee worked and then sent by copy to the District Tort Claim Coordinator. If the claim is in excess of $50,000.00, it would be a good idea to send the claim to the Postal Claims Division Counsel’s Office in Washington, D.C. as well.
As we have written previously, there are “traps for the unwary” in trying to sue Uncle Sam and obtain compensation for injuries caused by the acts and/or omissions of government employees. While such claims can be pursued successfully, they often time take some time to resolve just by nature of a claim being against the federal government which never moves too quickly. Nonetheless, if the rules are followed, the Federal Tort Claims Act still is a very valuable asset when it comes to compensating the innocent victims of the negligent acts of government employees.