Can I Sue A Police Department In Augusta If My Car Is Hit By A Police Officer
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If you ever watch any reality cop shows, youve seen how often cops get involved in high-speed chases. They happen more often than we may think. The officers blast their sirens and flash their lights. They do what they can to let us know theyre on the way.
However, even police officers make mistakes. Most of the time, theyre dealing with stressful situations. Theyre trying to keep the public safe. This means that, at times, they may put some people in danger.
If your car is hit by a police officer, you may or may not have a legal claim. It really depends on whether or not the officer can claim governmental immunity. As long as theyre on duty, they enjoy widespread protection from civil liability. This means you may have no choice but to seek coverage under your own insurance policy.
There are a few exceptions to this rule. It really comes down to whether or not the officer was acting with discretion or not.
Do I Need A Lawyer For Help With Impounded Car Issues
If your vehicle has been impounded by the police, you should consult with a skilled and knowledgeable criminal lawyer. An experienced and local criminal lawyer attorney will provide you with advice regarding your rights and options.
Additionally, the police are not always mindful of when it is appropriate to tow and impound a vehicle. If you believe that your vehicle was unjustly impounded, or searched illegally once it was impounded, a criminal attorney can provide assistance.
- No fee to present your case
- Choose from lawyers in your area
- A 100% confidential service
Who Can Be Held Responsible For A Crash After A Police Chase
There are many different ways to determine liability for a Florida crash. In most cases, the party at fault is the one who had a duty of care to the person injured and who’s found to be guilty of violating that duty.
With this in mind, the parties who are typically liable for causing police chase accidents are:
If you were hurt in a car accident, we can help you determine who should pay for your medical bills and lost income. Contact one of our experienced Florida injury attorneys today by filling out the quick contact form on this page.
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Police Car Accidents: Are Police Exempt From Charges
The answer depends on what the police officer was doing at the time. What happens if a police officer rear ends you if they were responding to an emergency? The accident they caused may not hold up in court depending on the context of the situation.
Indiana Code 9-21-1-8 states the exceptions in situations for when you may file a lawsuit against police for a car accident. If the officer was a.) responding to an emergency call b.) in pursuit of a convict or suspected law violator or c.) in response to a fire alarm , they are working within the parameters of their duty. If the officer is involved in these situations, they are allowed to:
- Park or stand
- Go through a stop sign or signal
- Go over the speed limit as long as life or property is not at risk
- Do not have to follow traffic direction
Each case is different, so before ruling out your chances, consult an attorney for advice.
Your Augusta Accident Lawyer Will Check To See If Immunity Applies
In order to enjoy governmental immunity, a police officer must be acting within the scope of is job. Your attorney is going to have to prove that the officers actions were discretionary. If the court deems that the cop was acting within his ministerial duties, he wont be held responsible. And this means that police department wont be held responsible either.
Ministerial actions are behaviors that are required as part of the officers job. If they get a call to chase a criminal, they have no choice. The same is true if theyre responding to a dangerous crime scene. Cops are protected for ministerial duties.
If the action is discretionary, they may be held liable. These are actions that they carry on daily but arent emergency in nature. Immunity usually wont apply in these situations. It depends on whether or not the office was negligent.
Your Charlotte accident lawyer can also prevail if he can show that the officer was acting recklessly or maliciously. These acts are not covered by governmental immunity.
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What Does It Mean When The Police Impound A Car
Vehicle impoundment refers to a specific legal process in which a personâs vehicle is placed into an impoundment lot, or vehicle impound lot. This is a place for holding vehicles until they are given back to the owner. Law enforcement officers can impound your vehicle for a number of reasons.
The most common example of this would be if you are arrested for a traffic violation, such as a DUI. If no one else is present and able to drive your car away from the scene, the officers may impound it.
Some other examples of circumstances in which the police may impound a car include, but are not limited to:
- Evading the police
- Organizing, promoting, or participating in drag racing
- Driving a vehicle that is not registered
- Driving a vehicle that is not insured
- Driving without a license and
- Driving with a suspended license.
There are some occasions in which the police may impound your vehicle, even if no crime has been committed. Officers may be allowed to impound a vehicle if itâs a danger to public safety.
Staying On The Scene After A Hit
When drivers do not stay at the scene of an accident, Florida defines this as a hit-and-run accident. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that the number of hit and run crashes across Florida remains steady. Although property damage is the common outcome of these cases, it can be dangerous, causing costly injuries and peoples lives.
This fact prompted FLHSMV to launch its Stay at the Scene campaign to encourage all drivers to do their part in keeping the roads safe. The effort also aims to teach motorists about the responsible thing to do should they find themselves in a hit-and-run accident.
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What Happens If A Police Report Wasnt Filed After A Car Accident
Tuesday, September 24th, 2019
Not all car accidents result in serious injuries, but these still require you to contact the authorities. There are a few reasons you may think you dont have to call the police. If you dont feel injured or if there isnt much damage, it can be tempting to swap insurance information and leave. But, it is important to always contact the authorities after a car wreck.
Working With An Auto Accident Lawyer In Atlanta
If your vehicle was hit by a police officer, choose to work with a Georgia car accident lawyer for the best possible outcome. While its no wonder that the Atlanta Police or even Georgia State Patrol spend most of their time driving, they would eventually get into an accident its still a shock when it happens to you.
Contact our Georgia personal injury law firm to understand how resolving these issues happen. After a crash with a government vehicle, there are all manner of questions that crop up. Have a professional on hand that can answer your questions and put your worries at ease.
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Who Is Liable When A Police Chase Causes An Accident
Posted by Megan Kiefer | Mar 25, 2019 | 0 Comments
It is no secret that we see a lot of crime in New Orleans and its surrounding areas and so the NOPD and its police officers are frequently faced with a suspect who attempts to flee their inquiry, arrest, or capture which can lead to a police chase. Sometimes, these pursuits involve NOPD vehicles and, unfortunately, sometimes these high speed pursuits can lead to serious injury.
Just this month, the NOPD pursued a high speed chase of a suspected stolen vehicle through the Broadmoor area. According to the Police Department, the officers spotted the vehicle near South Derbigny and Toledano streets and tried to pull over the driver, who then sped off. A police chase ensued and the stolen vehicle crashed into a hair and beauty salon, Unity 1 Beauty Supply & Hair Salon, causing the salon to catch on fire. Two of the vehicle occupants died and one of the customers of the hair salon died in the fire with others suffering serious injury.
The Police Department’s Public Integrity Bureau has started an investigation into the tragic Broadmoor beauty salon crash. The New Orleans Police Department officers have been temporarily reassigned due to possible violations of the NOPD vehicle pursuit policy. The accident is still under investigation.
https://www.wdsu.com/article/nopd-officers-involved-in-possible-vehicle-pursuit-policy-violation-after-salon-fire-crash-reassigned/26909788
The nature of the fleeing suspect .
Vehicle speeds.
Who Would I File A Claim Against If Im Hit By A Police Car
Being in a car accident is bad enough, but being in a car accident where the offending driver is a government employee is even worse. When a government employee, such as a police officer, is involved, liability is not black and white.
Who do you sue: the driver or the employer, i.e., the municipality? It is not always easy determining how to proceed. We have asked attorney, Alaina Sullivan, about what you should do. Here is what she had to say:
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Will My Insurance Company Cover Me
A liability car insurance policy typically covers a policyholder who drives in a negligent way. Some insurers cover policyholders who drive in a grossly negligent or even reckless way, depending on what the policy says. No insurer covers car accidents caused by intentional conduct. Some insurers take the position that drinking and driving is intentional conduct and try to get out of paying for damages resulting from a DUI. If this happens to you after a pedestrian-car accident, talk to a lawyer.
Even if your insurer agrees to cover you, know that they might not cover all damages . Also, know that your insurer might try to cancel your coverage after an accident with a pedestrian. At a minimum, your premium will almost certainly increase.
How Long Can Police Hold Your Car In Impound
State laws vary in regards to how long police can hold your car in impound. Additionally, the amount of time in which a vehicle may be impounded can vary based on the reason why the vehicle was impounded.
For example, if your car is part of an ongoing criminal investigation, the police can hold your car for the pendency of the criminal investigation. If no charges are filed after the investigation is concluded, your vehicle should then be returned. If charges are filed against you, then the vehicle may be held for the entirety of the criminal case, unless your attorney files a motion for the court to release your vehicle.
It is important to note that your vehicle may accumulate storage fees for every day your vehicle sits in impound. Therefore, if no charges were filed against you, then it is important to retrieve your vehicle as soon as possible, by paying off the existing impound and storage fees.
If your vehicle was impounded subsequent to an arrest, such as driving without a license or registration etc., then the police may hold your vehicle in impound for a locally designated period of time. It is important to research your local municipalityâs administrative process for impounded vehicles, as that will dictate when you will be able to retrieve your vehicle from impound, as well as the maximum charges that may be charged for impounding your vehicle.
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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.
How Can Radar Detectors Counter This
The radar detector system would pick up the electromagnetic signals released by speed radar. They usually pick up AM and FM frequency signals just like a traditional radio. Even if the police officer is not targeting your vehicle, your radar detector will detect these electromagnetic signals, and the device will signal to the driver in the form of a bleep or blinking light.
If you see the signal, you can release the throttle and hit the brakes to reduce your speed. Once the speed radar hits you, it will detect that your speed is normal. Even if the cops feel that you were speeding, they wont pull you over for a speeding ticket because the speed radar did not detect that you were speeding.
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What Is Sovereign Immunity And When Does It Apply
Local, county, state, and federal governmental agencies and entities are in many cases protected against lawsuits by a legal principle called sovereign immunity. However, across the United States, sovereign immunity is not absolute, and in California, if youve been injured by a police officer who was driving negligently, and if you act swiftly, in most cases youll be able to pursue compensation for your injuries and for wages lost while you were injured. The first move is discussing your rights and options with a personal injury attorney in Pasadena.
After any traffic collision, your health is absolutely the top priority, so you should obtain immediate medical attention even if you dont seem or feel injured.
Adrenaline can sometimes mask the initial pain of an injury, and without medical attention, an injury thats not immediately apparent could develop days or weeks later into a serious medical condition. A medical examination also provides evidence youll require in case you really are injured and need to file a personal injury claim.
State and local governments have established strict procedural rules for anyone making a claim against them for injuries. Those rules include short deadlines and precise requirements regarding what the claim must include.
A traffic crash caused by a California police officer is what the law calls a public entity case, essentially meaning that you must act quickly to protect your right to sue.
What To Do When Someone Has Hit Your Parked Car
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There are many different situations where you have to leave your car unattended and parked in a public place for long periods of time. Most times upon your return, your car is unharmed and is in the exact condition that you left it in. However, one day you might find yourself in the unfortunate situation of returning to your car only to discover its been damaged in some way.
If someone has hit or damaged your car, hopefully they did the right thing and left a note. If they did not, its also known as a hit-and-run. Either way, its not what you want to find when you come back to your car.
In this blog, we will discuss exactly how you should proceed when someone has hit your parked car. We will go over what steps to take depending on each scenario.
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Police Negligence While Driving
IC Code 9-21-1-8 also states that the officer driving is not relieved from their duty as a citizen to drive with caution and to care for the safety of others. The IC does not protect a police officer from the consequences of their actions if the officer was driving recklessly or disregarding their surroundings. The police officer could be considered negligent if their driving behavior led to an accident, such as a police car hitting a pedestrian in certain situations.
What Damages Are Covered In A Florida Car Accident
There are 3 main examples where a government employee can be held responsible for damages or injuries that he or she caused. These are:
1. An injury caused by either negligence, omission or caused by a wrongful act. Medical negligence and car accidents fall under this category.
2. The damage is able to be compensated with money. In most personal injury cases, including those of car accidents, this is true.
3. The accused party would be held negligent under normal law if they werent employed by the government.
You can see that a car accident with a government vehicle fits all three of these conditions. Therefore, you should be able to process a claim against the government for this type of accident.
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What Damages Could Happen To Your Vehicle In A Collision With A Police Car
The damages to your car could be significant. The most common damages that occur in car accidents are dented panels, damaged head or taillights, broken windshields or windows, smashed rear end, and scrapes and dents. If the accident is serious your car could be totaled.
The extent of the damage will depend on variable factors like how fast the police car was going when it hit your car, and the position of your car when it was hit. Because police cars are large, heavy, and fast your car could be seriously damaged or destroyed when a police car hits it. If that happens you will be entitled to compensation for your car so that you can buy a new car that was equal to the value of the car that was totaled.