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Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers Even the Scales in Government v. Citizen
- By Chris Zachar
- Published 07/18/2011
- National, State, Local
- Unrated
Phoenix personal injury lawyers aren't easily intimidated. From the moment a person is injured or killed, the world seems to turn on them and their loved ones. All at once, your bills pile up, the clock starts running on your legal rights, and you're deluged with a crushing wave of insurance paperwork, all at a time when you and your loved ones are already suffering. These challenges can be daunting in even a simple case, but it's even worse when the person responsible works for the government and seems to have the entire weight of the State behind them. It's at moments like these that the help of a Phoenix personal injury lawyer can be of immense value.
Many services that are seen as public are actually provided by private contractors paid by the government, so it's a good idea to ask a Phoenix personal injury lawyer whether the rules for private defendants or public defendants apply to your case. If you have been harmed by the misconduct of a truly public entity, you will need to find out if the public entity is immune from being sued. To understand why, it's important to know a little bit about the history of governmental, or "sovereign" immunity.
When the United States came into existence, it inherited the idea of sovereign immunity from English common law. The concept goes back to medieval England, where the law was that anything the sovereign (monarch) did was legal. Each of the States of the union as well as the federal government inherited this immunity more or less intact from medieval times.
Things changed in the middle of the 20th century when Congress, followed by state legislatures and courts, began to eliminate sovereign immunity. Congress eliminated it by passing the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) in 1946. This piece of legislation removes the immunity the federal government had under common law and replaces it with a statutory immunity. This means the federal government cannot be sued except for certain claims and then only when the procedures which the Act spells out are followed. One of the most important area
s where the United States retains immunity is in the area of governmental functions and policymaking decisions. The line between people who commit negligent acts (who are not covered by the Act) and those who craft poor policies (who are) has been the subject of intense, ongoing, and probably endless debate and litigation.
When Arizona was granted statehood in 1912, it, like all states, enjoyed sovereign immunity from being sued. Arizona's Supreme Court abolished the State's sovereign immunity in the 1960's. In the 1980's, though, the Arizona legislature began passing laws that re-established the State's sovereign immunity in a more limited way. The constitutionality of these laws has been challenged several times, but at present the the public immunity laws are valid, while possibly still open to challenge.
Similar to the protection given to the federal government by the FTCA, Arizona law currently provides total immunity to the state's public entities such as cities, counties, and the state itself for judicial, governmental, and administrative actions. Generally, this means that you cannot sue the City of Phoenix if the police force failed to protect you from being mugged, nor Maricopa County for deciding not to build a road that you would have taken instead of the highway where you were rear-ended. The full scope of this protection is not yet clearly defined, so it's important that you give your Phoenix Wrongful Death lawyer as much information as possible about your circumstances.
Arizona law also provides public entities with immunity except in cases of intentional or extremely negligent misconduct for harm resulting from, among other things, prison breaks, DUIs, and illegal weapons. There is no general immunity for governmental employees or their employers for negligent acts committed in the course of duty, but there are special procedures which must be followed if a plaintiff wishes to sue both the individual and the office. A professional Phoenix personal injury lawyer can see to it that these formalities are handled correctly.
It's important to remember that the law governing public liability is complex and subject to considerable disagreement even within the legal profession.
Many services that are seen as public are actually provided by private contractors paid by the government, so it's a good idea to ask a Phoenix personal injury lawyer whether the rules for private defendants or public defendants apply to your case. If you have been harmed by the misconduct of a truly public entity, you will need to find out if the public entity is immune from being sued. To understand why, it's important to know a little bit about the history of governmental, or "sovereign" immunity.
When the United States came into existence, it inherited the idea of sovereign immunity from English common law. The concept goes back to medieval England, where the law was that anything the sovereign (monarch) did was legal. Each of the States of the union as well as the federal government inherited this immunity more or less intact from medieval times.
Things changed in the middle of the 20th century when Congress, followed by state legislatures and courts, began to eliminate sovereign immunity. Congress eliminated it by passing the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) in 1946. This piece of legislation removes the immunity the federal government had under common law and replaces it with a statutory immunity. This means the federal government cannot be sued except for certain claims and then only when the procedures which the Act spells out are followed. One of the most important area
When Arizona was granted statehood in 1912, it, like all states, enjoyed sovereign immunity from being sued. Arizona's Supreme Court abolished the State's sovereign immunity in the 1960's. In the 1980's, though, the Arizona legislature began passing laws that re-established the State's sovereign immunity in a more limited way. The constitutionality of these laws has been challenged several times, but at present the the public immunity laws are valid, while possibly still open to challenge.
Similar to the protection given to the federal government by the FTCA, Arizona law currently provides total immunity to the state's public entities such as cities, counties, and the state itself for judicial, governmental, and administrative actions. Generally, this means that you cannot sue the City of Phoenix if the police force failed to protect you from being mugged, nor Maricopa County for deciding not to build a road that you would have taken instead of the highway where you were rear-ended. The full scope of this protection is not yet clearly defined, so it's important that you give your Phoenix Wrongful Death lawyer as much information as possible about your circumstances.
Arizona law also provides public entities with immunity except in cases of intentional or extremely negligent misconduct for harm resulting from, among other things, prison breaks, DUIs, and illegal weapons. There is no general immunity for governmental employees or their employers for negligent acts committed in the course of duty, but there are special procedures which must be followed if a plaintiff wishes to sue both the individual and the office. A professional Phoenix personal injury lawyer can see to it that these formalities are handled correctly.
It's important to remember that the law governing public liability is complex and subject to considerable disagreement even within the legal profession.
Chris Zachar
Since 1996, Personal Injury Lawyer, Christopher J. Zachar, has provided legal experience to his clients. As an experienced litigator, Chris Zachar has earned a respected reputation among his peers for the favorable settlements and verdicts obtained for injured clients. With distinction among other law firms, Christopher Zachar obtains many referrals from other firms that put their trust in him and his successful track record.
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