If you were injured as a result of the negligence of a federal government employee, government vehicle, or on federal government property and wish to file a claim for damages, you must file according to the rules set forth under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Specific guidelines for filing a claim under the FTCA must be adhered to or your claim will be summarily denied. Some of the requirements include:

1) Claiming a ’sum certain’ on the standard claim form;

2) Filing an SF-95 with the agency responsible for the accident;

3) Waiting for a ‘final denial’ from the agency before commencing suit;

4) Naming not the agency but the United States of America as the defendant;

Federal Tort Claims Act cases are conducted as ‘bench trials’, they being a trial without the benefit of a jury. Sometimes this can act in the client’s favor and other times it will not. A myriad of circumstances can affect the outcome in a bench trial. Siginificant initial research is reuired to determine and minimize those difficulties and the goal prior to trial is to leave as little to chance as possible.

Recently, Hach & Rose litigated a case under the FTCA for a union member involved in a serious motor vehicle accident, with extremely difficult liability. The liability was difficult enough that it was rejected by a number of major firms in New York. We decided to take on the case and the judge in the matter found nearly $4 Million dollars in damages. Albeit the number will be reduced based on the comparative negligence of the client, the case is still ongoing and we hope to have that number increased for our client. Notwithstanding it shows that the harder your attorney is willing to work on your behalf, the better the result you will have in your case. If you have and questions regarding a Federal Tort Claims Act matter, feel free to give us a call or contact our firm through the contact page.