Filing A Personal Injury Suit Against The Police: What You Need To Know
Sometimes those whose job it is to protect people wind up hurting people. Whether by accident or on purpose, the simple fact remains: police do cause injuries to people on a daily basis. What should you do in case a police causes bodily harm to you? One of the many options that you have at your disposal is suing the police through a personal injury suit. There are a number of things that you will need to know if you decide on pursuing this course of action. This brief article will guide you through what you need to know about filing a personal injury claim against the police.
File A Government Tort Claim
Before you can actually sue the police, you must actually give them fair warning, as well as a chance to respond to the accusations. This process is essentially filing a government tort claim.
The city offers this tort claim, and it must be filled out in full and returned to the city. The city usually has a limitation on how long you can file a tort claim after you have received injuries from a police officer or multiple officers. State and local laws differ regarding how long you can take before submitting a government tort claim.
If the city government does respond with a settlement offer, you should contact an attorney immediately in order to work out a settlement that is adequate for you and corresponds to the injuries and psychological trauma you suffered from the event. If however, the city rejects your government tort claim or does not respond within a reasonable amount of time, you may proceed with a full personal injury suit. This also requires contacting an attorney.
Contacting An Attorney
The next step, whether your claim was either rejected or a settlement was offered, is to contact an attorney. An attorney will be able to adequately guide you through the process of the settlement or going to court with a personal injury suit.
If the world has guided you towards the former path, a lawyer will take a look at the settlement offered and compare that to the expenses you incurred due to police brutality. If the expenses happen to roughly correspond to the value of the sum that the city has offered you, your lawyer will most likely tell you to accept the offer.
There are a myriad of factors your lawyer must take into consideration when advising you whether or not to take the settlement, however. First and foremost, he or she will ask the question, "Does this sum cover the medical expenses that you have incurred due to violence?" At the very least, a settlement offer should cover said expenses.
The settlement should also include money to compensate for any psychological or emotional trauma you have suffered due to the actions of a violent police officer. If your case goes to court, your attorney will help to build a case against the city or police department, using every shred of evidence he or she can find to help convict the plaintiff of his or her wrongdoing.
One of the most important factors in proving the guilty of a violent police officer are photographs of the aftermath of your experience, detailing any bruises or gashes you may have received at the hands of an officer.
Police brutality is a horrifying trauma to have to endure. Luckily, you don't have to take it lying down. This brief article has hopefully armed you with enough knowledge to know what to do in the event that a police officer utilizes excessive force on you. Stay safe and know what you can do in case this experience does happen to you. For more information contact an experienced personal injury lawyer like Jon D. Caminez, PA.