Can You Claim Compensation For An Assault By A Police Officer
When it comes to claiming for police negligence UK based lawyers see police assaults regularly. An assault by a police officer is one of the main causes of a person suing the police for misconduct.
If you have been assaulted by a police officer, you could claim police negligence compensation. You will claim either against the police force as a whole or the specific police officer who assaulted you.
Accident Claims UK can help with police negligence claims. Call us on the number at the bottom of this page to find out how.
What If I Was Injured By A Police Officers Dog
In a personal injury accident involving a police dog, you can sue more than one person, depending on the circumstances. An officer could be held liable if their negligence resulted in a dog attack that was not warranted.
The responsible police officer may try to use the qualified immunity to defend themselves if such an incident occurs. However, there are several instances, like in the case of a police dog bite, where the courts discarded this immunity, and the injury victim was able to receive compensation.
Could Police Officers Claim For Accidents Or Injuries At Work
Police negligence claims could also be made by police officers. Every police officer is protected by Health & Safety legislation, just as every employee of every business and organisation in the UK is. The fact that the police force is one of the Government-run emergency services doesnt change this.
If you are a police officer that has been injured at work whilst carrying out your duties, Accident Claims UK can help you to claim for a work-related accident. Call us on the number at the bottom of this page to proceed. Once you have filled in an online police compensation form you could claim compensation for police negligence.
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Can A Police Officer File A Third
A third-party lawsuit would be an option if the injury happened at work, but theres liability on the part of someone whos not associated with your workplace.
For example, if youre a construction worker who was injured because a scaffold structure was defective, you might be able to sue the manufacturer of the scaffold rather than your employer. This might be effective if you were seriously injured because it might increase your damages because it can include pain and suffering.
Similarly, a police officer might be able to directly sue the driver of another car after an accident, the owner of a property with a hazardous condition that caused an injury, or even for certain instances of violence against them in their role as an officer.
However, filing third-party lawsuits in addition to a workers compensation claim can be complicated. Your best bet is to consult a work injury lawyer near you if you were injured in the line of duty and are considering suing the at-fault individual.
Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress
Citizens can also sue police officers when the latter cause emotional distress negligently, rather than intentionally or recklessly. The extent of emotional harm required for a successful lawsuit depends on the jurisdiction.
But in order for there to be potential liability for negligently caused emotional distress, the officer must owe a “duty of care” to the citizen. In other words, the court will consider whether the officer had some kind of special relationship with the plaintiff that’s distinct from the general police responsibility to the public at large.
For example, in a Louisiana case, a rape victim sued a sheriff for the emotional distress she suffered when the evidence in her case was mistakenly destroyed before a suspect had been arrested. The court held that the duty to preserve evidence goes to the general public, and that law enforcement doesn’t owe any special duty to protect an individual from the misplacement or mistaken destruction of evidence. .)
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How Do I Sue The Nypd
Overreachby a law enforcement official does not need to result in death or seriousinjury for police conduct to be actionable. Particularly in New York, thepolice operate under strict orders and limitations on what they can and cannot doto detain and treat suspects.
Whenan officer exceeds those limits, and an individual suffers a physical,emotional, or psychological injury, they may have good cause to sue the NYPD.
The NYC civil rights lawyers at Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb & Green, P.C. help victims of police misconduct to recover the damages they deserve to compensate for injuries suffered at the hands of overzealous police officers. Specific rules govern the processes and procedures to sue the NYPD. Victims of police violence should verify that their lawyers understand those rules and have the experience and expertise to overcome the citys and the police departments defenses against them.
Injured On Or Off The Job
If you have been injured in the line of duty, call us now for a free consultation to find out if you may be able to file a lawsuit to recover money for personal injuries in addition to Workers Compensation.
Of course, please call for a free consultation if you were injured while off duty.
Phil Franckel is a Personal Injury Attorney and Sgt., C.O. Communications Bureau,NCPD Auxiliary Police Section. Some of our partners are former ADAs. We have represented many police officers from several police agencies in New York including NYPD, NCPD, SCPD, and MTAPD.
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Philip L. Franckel, Esq. is the author of this page.
Mr. Franckel has been a personal injury lawyer since 1989, Founding Partner of 1-800-HURT-911® New York, President of 1-800-HURT-911, Inc., and a former Member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. He has a 10 Avvo Rating, Avvo Clients Choice Award with all 5-star reviews, and Avvo Top Contributor Award. See Mr. Franckels bio.
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Can I File A Claim If My Spouse Was Killed In A Police Car Accident
Under wrongful death laws, a family member may be able to file a lawsuit against the public entity after the death of a loved one. If a child, spouse, or parent was killed in an accident with a police car, the surviving family members may be able to hold the responsible party liable for damages.13
Damages in a wrongful death lawsuit include:
- Funeral expenses,
- Loss of earnings the deceased would have earned, and
- Compensation to the family for the loss of the loved one.
What Are The Most Common Forms Of Police Misconduct
The graph above gives an indication of just how many crimes the police deal with in the UK every year. Almost all of these crimes are handled professionally. However, a small percentage involve an aspect of police misconduct. These could lead to a person being able to engage a personal injury lawyer to make a compensation claim. The most common types of police misconduct are:
- A member of the public being taken into custody, with no real reason or explanation as to why they have been detained.
- A member of the public being physically attacked or assaulted by an on-duty police officer.
- A member of the public being arrested without their being a valid reason for the arrest, such as insufficient evidence.
- A member of the public being arrested based on falsified evidence.
These reasons and more are cause for you to engage a personal injury solicitor to claim police negligence compensation. Call Accident Claims UK on the number at the bottom of this page to start your claim today. Talk to us about police negligence claims.
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How Our Guide Could Help You
This guide also contains useful information on the personal injury claims time limit and other information including:
- A full description of the legal definition of police misconduct with regard to making a compensation claim.
- A full description of the legal definition of police negligence UK with regard to making a police negligence compensation claim.
- A list of the most common types of police negligence that happen in the UK each year.
- Steps you should take if youve suffered an injury due to police negligence or misconduct to give you the best chance of winning a compensation claim.
- Information on your legal position if you need to make a compensation claim for an injury caused by an assault by a police officer.
- Information on claiming for emotional distress caused by police negligence UK or misconduct.
- A discussion of the duty to protect that all police officers are expected to adhere too. We then look at how you can claim if the police fail in this duty.
- A description of police misconduct hearings, what they are and what their function is.
- The steps you need to take to begin a compensation claim for an injury caused by police misconduct or negligence.
- An introduction to the Accident Claims UK No Win No Fee claims service.
- Our explanation of why we believe this is the best vehicle for making a claim from the police.
What Happens If A Police Car Hits Your Car
In any car accident case, fault needs to be determined. It needs to be decided if you hit the police, or if the police hit your car. This is proven by presenting evidence to a court about the accident. If the officers driving was negligent and not adhering to the law, there could be a case however, there may be an emergency vehicle exemption depending on the circumstances.
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Can Nypd Officers Be Sued
The New York City Council has passed legislation aimed at reforming the New York Police Department by making it easier to sue police officers for misconduct. Qualified immunity is a decades-old legal doctrine thats often shielded police officers in cases of excessive force or unreasonable search and seizure.
Why Is A Police Report Not Allowed To Be Used As Evidence
As a general rule in California, car accident reports are not admissible as evidence of who was, or should be, liable for an accident. A police report is considered hearsay. That means the report itself cannot be admitted as evidence in a court. Why is this the case? Because the officer did not personally observe the accident. He arrives on the scene after the accident. His opinions and conclusions are based on what other people tell him, not on his own knowledge.
Police accident reports are considered hearsay because they are:
- unsworn statements
- made outside of a courtroom
- prepared by someone without direct knowledge of the incident
- describing a statement or action of another person
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Governmental Immunity For Police Officers
You might know that government agencies are often shielded from lawsuits by sovereign immunity. This derives from an ancient English principle that the monarch can do no wrong. Thats not how its interpreted today, but it does allow states and the federal government some protection from tort lawsuits under certain circumstances.
Federal law has enacted the Tort Claims Act, which permits an individual to sue a state or federal government if the person was harmed because of actions by an employee or agency who causes an injury while performing duties within the scope of their employment.
In many cases, this applies to accidental injuries like a car accident with a police or government vehicle, a slip and fall injury on public property, or an injury caused by a first responder who works for a county medical unit.
This immunity might also apply to a personal injury that results from excessive force by a police officer.
If evidence proves that the injury is the direct result of a police officers excessive force, they are likely not protected by governmental immunity. That means you could file a lawsuit against the police department and the officer, personally.
But if there are intervening factors, like the action of another person or your own actions, youre less likely to have a case that overrides immunity.
Personal Injury Cases Outside Of Work
Because The Ment Law Group, PC is dedicated to representing police officers and other law enforcement personnel in any situation they may need, we also take cases related to personal injuries that occur outside of work. These cases may arise from accidents or negligent or reckless actions of an individual or company. We can help you with the following types of personal injury claims:
- Car accidents Wrong way drivers, distracted drivers, drunk drivers, fatigued drivers, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, and others
- Truck accidents Spilled load accidents, drowsy truckers, intoxicated truck drivers, rollover accidents, underride and override accidents, and others
- Motorcycle accidents Distracted drivers, speeding accidents, visibility issues, and others
- Premises liability Slips & falls, broken stairs, cracked sidewalks, swimming pools, etc.
- Product liability Injuries from defective household products, toys, vehicles, medical devices, equipment, machinery, and more
- Medical malpractice Misdiagnosis, birth injuries, hospital errors, physician errors, pharmacist mistakes, anesthesia problems, and more
Law Enforcement
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Police Officers Are Not Required To Show The Same Degree Of Causation For The Injury
General Municipal Law 205-e Requires a Lesser Standard than is required in a normal negligence lawsuit.
The New York Court of Appeals recognized that a plaintiff is not required to show the same degree of proximate cause as is required in a common-law negligence action. A plaintiff need only establish a practical or reasonable connection between the statutory or regulatory violation and the claimed injury. Giuffrida v. Citibank Corp., 100 N.Y.2d 72, 790 N.E.2d 772, 760 N.Y.S.2d 397, 2003 N.Y.
This means that to be entitled to use General Municipal law 205-e to file a lawsuit against someone who injured a police officer, the police officer must only show a practical or reasonable connection between the law or regulation the negligent person violated and the cause of the injury. This is a lesser degree than is required in a regular personal injury lawsuit.
No Win No Fee Solicitors Specialising In Claims Against The Police
Accident Claims UK offers our No Win No Fee claims service as the best way to make a personal injury claim. But is this the same as getting legal aid? Not really. What this means is, that you pay nothing at all until we actually win a damages settlement for you.
We charge nothing to actually instigate your claim, and no matter how long it takes to reach a settlement for damages, we charge you nothing as we pursue your claim. In the rare eventuality that we fail to win a damages settlement for you, then you have nothing to pay us at all. This really is a 100% financially risk-free way to make a police negligence compensation claim. Call us at the number at the bottom of this page to find out how we can assist with police negligence claims.
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Fishkill Injury Attorney Serving Wappingers Falls Beacon Lagrangeville And Nearby Areas Of Hudson Valley
Generally, under the New York Workers Compensation Law, injured workers are barred from suing their employers to obtain personal injury damages. This law has its exceptions, such as claims by employees of interstate railroads covered by the Federal Employers Liability Act and maritime workers covered by the Jones Act. In addition, under the New York General Municipal Law § 205-e, a police officer can also commence a lawsuit to recover personal injury damages for injuries sustained in the line of duty “as a result of any neglect, omission, willful or culpable negligence of any person or persons in failing to comply with the requirements of any of the statutes, ordinances, rules, orders and requirements of the federal, state, county, village, town or city governments . . .”.
Last week, New York States highest court handed down the following decision which stated that a violation of the New York Public Employee Safety and Health Act where an unsafe and dangerous condition in the work place is alleged to have caused a police officer injury can serve as a basis for a claim under GML § 205-e, even though PESHA does not itself provide for a private right of action.
Gammons v City of New York
Court of Appeals
RIVERA, J.:
General Municipal Law § 205-e contains a right of action allowing police officers to sue for injuries sustained in the line of duty
III.
Why Sue The Police Department
People in this country are just as tired of frivolous lawsuits as they are police misconduct. The days of suing for any reason are over. A plaintiff must have a valid reason to sue police. A clear and obvious denial or infraction of a citizens civil rights must be present. It is also important to sue police if the dangers the plaintiff experienced by the police could possibly happen to another citizen. A civil duty is present to step up and stop a policeman who is violating procedure to the point of endangering the public he is worn to protect. Egregious errors must be prosecuted but frivolous lawsuits are not tolerated.
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Seeking Compensation From Other Parties For Injuries Not Suffered In The Line Of Duty
Police officers and firefighters have the right to sue for injuries that result from any other public or private defendants negligence regardless of whether they were in the line of duty at the time of the incident.
Cases for accidents that occur while not in the line of duty operate much like any other personal injury case. As long as the evidence shows that another party was negligent and that negligence resulted in injuries, police officers and firefighters can recover compensation just as any other civilian would.