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Injured by the State: Governmental Immunity, the Notice Requirement, and Your Rights
Posted by: Sean Goodbody
November 22, 2011
Topic: Personal Injury
Most know the term "statute of limitations," at least vaguely. The name almost, but not quite, gives the term's meaning away: it's a statute, or law, about limitations on how long a person has to bring a lawsuit against another person for a contract dispute, to claim land, or for injuries. Each state has laws that name the time limits for bringing certain types of lawsuits. The general public sense is that people have a decent chunk of time before they have to decide to bring a lawsuit, and that is more-or-less correct. For personal injury, dangerous products liability, medical malpractice, or wrongful death claims here in Colorado, a person has two full years from the date of the loss or injury before being barred by law from bringing a lawsuit.
But if you are injured by (for example) a police car, city trash truck, municipal bus, government doctor, or injured at a government-owned facility, the same limitations rules do not apply. This is because of a confusing concept known as "governmental immunity": cities, counties, and the state (and its employees) are immune, or cannot be sued, for many things that civilians like you and I would be fully liable for. In fact, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act specifically names the only types of acts or injuries that the government and its employees are liable for. These include car accidents with publicly-owned vehicles, the operation of public hospitals or jails, dangerous conditions of government buildings, and dangerous conditions on roads, sidewalks, or in parks and swimming pools.
But government immunity goes further than just limiting the types of claims allowed. In Colorado, people claiming injuries caused by the government or its employees have a very short time period - 180 days, or about six months - to file "written notice" that they want to file a claim. If "notice" is not filed within 180 days, any lawsuit that could have been filed for the injury is forever barred by law. This is still not the end of the legal requirements! This "notice" must contain all the relevant details of the injury: names and addresses of those involved, the circumstances and nature of the injury, and a statement of how much money is requested. And the notice must be filed with the correct government office: the office of the Colorado Attorney General if a state employee or agency is involved, or the governing body of the of the local agency or office if a local employee or agency is involved. If all these requirements are met, then, and only then, may a person file a lawsuit against a government agency for their injuries.
Even as a very young attorney (I joined Killian & Davis just last month), I have already seen these types of confusing limitations cause serious harm. While in law school, I had clients who waited just a little too long to protest unlawful and erroneous traffic tickets, parking tickets, and towing bills, and then were stuck paying them. Most couldn't afford to. I remember one client in particular who had just missed his window for suing a municipal bus line for major injuries he had suffered when he fell off a bus after a driver slammed the bus door on him. This issue came up again just last month here at Killian & Davis, when I had to tell a client that her right to sue after a car accident involving a government employee had just expired because of the 180-day rule.
The law says that the purpose of the "notice requirement" is to give government authorities "prompt notice of a need to investigate an accident." In reality, this requirement works to deprive citizens of their right to be made whole after an accident or injury, and allows government offices off the hook in a short time period if the injured person is not aware of the law and does not take swift action. While all government insurance agents and many employees know of the 180-day requirement, they are not required to tell you about it, and in fact will not talk about the requirement unless asked.
If you have been injured in an accident with a government employee, or while in a building, school, or hospital that you believe is owned by the government, do not wait. Make sure you know who is involved in the accident, and whether they are employed by a city, county, or by the State of Colorado. If so, contact an attorney to find out how you can preserve your rights, and to ensure that you can receive what is due to you under the law.
