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Understanding Local Government Tort Claims Act In The DMV Area

Are you familiar with the local government tort claims act? This is very different from an ordinary personal injury case. Contact Malloy Law Offices, LLC today!

In the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland, we’re in an area with a lot of government facilities and a lot of government workers. I’m not talking about federal government workers, although there’s the federal tort claims act. I am talking about employees in Virginia, The District of Columbia, and Maryland and counties, municipalities, that’s what local government is. I’m referring to the local government tort claims act or your lawyer talking about the local government tort claims act, that’s what they’re talking about.

How Does The Local Government Tort Claims Act Work In The DMV Area?

So let me give you a scenario: somebody calls up my office and says, “I was rear ended by a D.C.’s public works truck.” or “I was at the department of motor vehicles in Maryland and I was injured due to a defective condition that was existing.” People call us with claims like this all the time. They’ll say, “yeah I know that statute of limitations of the District of Columbia or in Maryland is 3 years.” But, that’s not the only time period that you have to keep in mind. There’s something called the local government tort claims act.

This act requires amongst other things that the plaintiff give notice to the local government of their potential tort claim usually within 12 months. So, that’s a shorter time period than the statute of limitations. You need to look at the statute to see who the letter needs to go to. There are some very specific rules of what needs to be in that letter. Where the accident happened, the date of the accident, a short description of the accident. Usually, it has to be served by certified mail upon some government employee that is put forth under the statute to receive that kind of notice. If you don’t check all of the boxes, if you don’t get every single thing right, your notice is defective.

There are many ways mess this up. Therefore, you need to be really careful when you’re dealing with a local government tort. Make sure that you’re not waiting up until the end of the deadline, this 12-month deadline, to serve your notice. Talk to your lawyer early about it because there are some notice requirements that you need to satisfy independent of the statute of limitations and they come quicker than the statute of limitations.

How Can Malloy Law Offices, LLC Help?

Here at Malloy Law Offices, LLC, we see these cases frequently since we practice in the Washington, D.C. area. Our attorneys here are experts on handling local government tort claims act. To see more on how these cases are handled, click here. Call (888) 607-8690 for a free consultation.