The Federal Tort Claims Act: Everything You Need To Know (2024)

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The United States government has sovereign immunity, which means it cannot be sued without its consent. This is based on the legal doctrine that the sovereign (or king) was not liable to the people.

In 1946 the passage of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) established the process for pursuing a claim for damages resulting from negligent or wrongful acts or omissions committed by any government employee acting within the scope of their employment.

Many states have also passed their own rules establishing how state and local governments can be sued–but FTCA specifically applies when a federal employee causes harm or damages.

This guide to the Federal Tort Claims Act helps you to understand how the Act affects your right to pursue a claim for compensation.

Who Can Pursue a Claim Under the Federal Tort Claims Act?

Anyone who sustained personal injury, property loss or other damage caused by a federal agency or employee may be able to pursue a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

This includes individuals, businesses, or other government entities who were harmed in some way by a federal employee acting in official capacity.

What Do You Need to Prove to Make a Claim Under the Federal Tort Claims Act?

In order to be eligible to make a FTCA claim, there are four key things you must prove:

  • An employee or agent of the federal government harmed you
  • The employee’s acts or omissions were negligent or intentionally wrongful
  • The employee was acting within the scope of their duties at the time of the harm
  • You were hurt as a direct result of the negligence of the employee

An experienced attorney can provide assistance in gathering the evidence necessary to make your case.

How Can You File a Claim Under the Federal Tort Claims Act?

The process of filing a claim under the FTCA is different than if you sue an individual or company for wrongdoing. That’s because you cannot go directly to court. There are some steps you must take first.

Start With the Administrative Claims Process

You must start with an administrative claim with the government agency responsible for your injuries (or who employs the person responsible for harming you). For example, if you were harmed by an EPA employee, you would need to send your claim to

EPA Claims Officer
Office of General Counsel
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (Mail Code 2399A)
Washington, D.C. 20460

You can use Standard Form 95 to submit your claim to the relevant federal agency, although you are not required to submit this form–as long as you send in a claim in writing containing the required information, including a demand for a specific amount of monetary compensation.

There are instructions provided for how to complete the form requesting damagings at FTCA Instructions for SF 95 but it is usually best to get a lawyer’s help submitting your claim. You should always make certain to include specific details about the incident, as well as a demand for an appropriate amount of compensation. This information is necessary for the agency to evaluate your claim.

You must file your claim within two years of the incident or less if your state imposes a shorter statute of limitations. The agency has six months to consider your claim and respond.

Consider a Request for Reconsideration if Necessary

If the federal agency accepts responsibility, they may offer to settle your claim for a set amount of money. You can accept the settlement offer, but you do not have to. If you are unhappy with the settlement offer made during the administrative claims process, you have a right to file a request for reconsideration or to sue in court.

Your request should include any new evidence available, as well as details on why you believe the original offer made was not appropriate.

File a Lawsuit in a U.S. District Court

You also have the right to file a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court if you are not happy with the settlement offer the government agency made. You must file it within six months of the date the claim decision was mailed to you.

You must file the claim in the court where you live or where the claim arose, and you are not allowed to ask for more compensation than you requested in your original demand during the administrative claims process–unless new evidence has come to light.

Once your case has reached this point, it will proceed like any other in the federal court system and you can seek compensation for losses you endured. You also have the option to settle even after you file a lawsuit, if the government agency makes an offer you are willing to accept at some point during the legal proceedings.

Timeline for Claims Under the Federal Tort Claims Act

There are strict time limits when you bring a claim against a federal agency under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

  • You must file your initial administrative claim within two years of the time the incident occurs (less if your state has a shorter statute of limitations)
  • The federal agency has six months to respond after you file your claim
  • You have six months from the time the federal agency’s response has been mailed to you to file a lawsuit

If you delay too long, your claim may be time-barred and you will be unable to move forward with recovering compensation.

An experienced attorney can help you ensure you do not miss any deadlines so you don’t jeopardize your rights. It’s best to contact an attorney ASAP after the incident for help during this complex process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How does the Federal Tort Claims Act work?

The Federal Tort Claims Act is a 1946 law that entitles you to pursue a claim against the federal government if a government worker caused you harm while performing their official duties. The Act requires you to first make an administrative claim before proceeding with a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court if no settlement agreement can be reached with the government agency liable for losses.

Who is covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act?

Individuals, businesses and other government entities are all given the right to pursue a claim for injury or property damage under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Claims can be made against any government agency if you can prove an employee of that agency caused harm while working in an official capacity on behalf of the government.

Can you sue the government if an agent or employee hurts you?

You can sue the government if a federal or state worker caused you harm. There are different processes for pursuing a claim against a government agency compared with against a private individual or business. You should talk with an attorney to make sure you understand the process and take action within the required time frame.

The Federal Tort Claims Act: Everything You Need To Know (2024)

FAQs

The Federal Tort Claims Act: Everything You Need To Know? ›

Under the FTCA, the federal government acts as a self-insurer, and recognizes liability for the negligent or wrongful acts or omissions of its employees acting within the scope of their official duties. The United States is liable to the same extent an individual would be in like circumstances.

What are the rules for the Federal Tort Claims Act? ›

To state a valid claim, the claimant must demonstrate that:
  • he or she was injured, or his or her property was damaged by a federal government employee;
  • the employee was acting within the scope of his or her official duties;
  • the employee was acting negligently or wrongfully; and.

What are the 4 things required to prove that a tort occurred? ›

Identifying the Four Tort Elements

The accused had a duty, in most personal injury cases, to act in a way that did not cause you to become injured. The accused committed a breach of that duty. An injury occurred to you. The breach of duty was the proximate cause of your injury.

What are the 5 areas of tort law? ›

There are numerous specific torts including trespass, assault, battery, negligence, products liability, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. There are also separate areas of tort law including nuisance, defamation, invasion of privacy, and a category of economic torts.

What you need to know about tort law? ›

The concept of tort law is to redress a wrong done to a person and provide relief from the wrongful acts of others, usually by awarding monetary damages as compensation. The original intent of tort is to provide full compensation for proved harms. Lawsuits involving contracts fall under contract law.

What are the exclusions of the Federal Tort Claims Act? ›

§ 2680 . These exceptions stipulate that the federal government will not be held liable for the claims against its employees arising out of assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander, misrepresentation, deceit, or interference with contract rights.

How do I avoid a tort claim? ›

4 Tips to Minimize Tort Claims for Business Owners
  1. Follow Best Practices. Create best practices that include the standard of care for a reasonably prudent person in your industry. ...
  2. Have a Waiver or Release Agreement. Depending on the industry, having your customer sign a waiver can be very helpful. ...
  3. Incorporating. ...
  4. Insurance.
Dec 2, 2019

What is the hardest tort to prove? ›

Generally, intentional torts are harder to prove than negligence, since a plaintiff must show that the defendant did something on purpose.

What are the three most common burdens of proof in tort? ›

There are three levels of the burden of proof that determine the amount of evidence required for a claim to be successful in trial court. These include "preponderance of the evidence," "clear and convincing evidence," and "beyond a reasonable doubt."

How do you prove negligence in tort? ›

Proving Negligence. Most civil lawsuits for injuries allege the wrongdoer was negligent. To win in a negligence lawsuit, the victim must establish 4 elements: (1) the wrongdoer owed a duty to the victim, (2) the wrongdoer breached the duty, (3) the breach caused the injury (4) the victim suffered damages.

Is tort criminal or civil? ›

A tort is a wrongful act that injures or interferes with another's person or property. A tort case is a civil court proceeding.

What is the most common tort action? ›

Negligence is by far the most common type of tort.

Negligence occurs when a person fails to act carefully enough and another person gets hurt as a result. For this type of case, a person must owe a duty to another person. Then, they must fail in their duty to act reasonably.

What is malice in law of tort? ›

MALICE IN THE LAW OF TORT. "Malice in common acceptation means ill-will against a person; but in its legal sense it means a wrongful act, done intentionally, without just cause or excuse." '

How do you prove a tort? ›

Tort liability is predicated on the existence of proximate cause, which consists of both: (1) causation in fact, and (2) foreseeability. A plaintiff must prove that his or her injuries were the actual or factual result of the defendant's actions.

What does tort give you? ›

A tort is a civil wrongdoing—whether intentional or negligent, where an individual suffers a loss or harm, which results in legal liability for the person who causes it. Tort law aims to redress the wrongdoing and compensate the victim(s), typically by awarding monetary damages.

What two questions does tort law deal with? ›

Tort law deals with two basic questions: 1) Who should be held liable (responsible) for harm caused by human activities? 2) How much should the responsible person have to pay? Social traditions dictate that for public policy reasons certain groups of people should not be sued, even if their conduct was improper.

What is the jurisdiction of the Federal Tort Claims Act? ›

The FTCA provides that courts may only exercise jurisdiction over: claims against the United States, for money damages . . . for injury or loss of property, or personal injury or death caused by their negligent or wrongful act or omission . . .

What is an example of the Federal Tort Claims Act? ›

A plaintiff injured by a defendant's wrongful act may file a tort lawsuit to recover money from that defendant. To name a particularly familiar example of a tort, a person who negligently causes a vehicular collision may be liable to the victim of that crash.

What is the United States Code Federal Tort Claims Act? ›

§ 1346) ("FTCA") is a 1946 federal statute that permits private parties to sue the United States in a federal court for most torts committed by persons acting on behalf of the United States. Historically, citizens have not been able to sue the government — a doctrine referred to as sovereign immunity.

Is there a cap on federal tort claims? ›

Although the FTCA contains limitations on the types of damages that can be recovered, the law does not include a cap on how much can be awarded. That being said, many states do cap certain types of damages. Any relevant state cap on damages will also apply to an FTCA claim.

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