Authored by: John M. Cooper
As a personal injury attorney practicing in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA), I am all too aware of the special rules that apply to injuries caused by a city employee.
Under some circumstances a city employee can be held responsible for bad driving or other negligence, but sometimes a special law called sovereign immunity prevents the injured person from making a claim against the city, whether that is Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Williamsburg, Newport News, or Hampton, Virginia (VA). The rule is not always clear as to when a city will be at fault and when they won’t be. The key is to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after an injury occurs especially when a Virginia (VA) city is involved. There are many special rules including deadlines for bringing a claim in order to make to get a recovery where a city is involved.
In 2004, Hampton, Virginia (VA) was forced to pay 7.5 million dollars to settle a case against the school district where a school bus driver hit a motorcyclist causing brain injury. The liability of the city depended on the fact that the bus driver had not yet gotten any students on the bus when the incident happened. The tricky rules as to when a city in Virginia (VA) is responsible for ordinary negligence, like the rest of us on the road, or where they are responsible only for gross negligence, which is very hard to prove, depends upon the specific facts.
Additionally, when you have against a city like Norfolk, Virginia (VA), for instance, you have to send a letter in a certain format to the government official specified in the Virginia (VA) code. If this letter is not sent out within six (6) months of the event there will be no insurance coverage or other city responsibility under Virginia (VA) law.
It is important that you have an attorney who knows about these complex rules, if you or a loved one gets hurt or killed by the fault of someone who is a government employee. We have successfully handled many of these kinds of cases over the years. Recently, my law partner Jim Lewis had successfully handled a case against a police officer in Albemarle County, Virginia (VA) who severely hurt a woman riding on a motorcycle. The accident was not the fault of the woman and she had horrible broken bones with hospitalizations and huge medical bills. It is a good thing that this lady contacted an attorney who was experienced in this area of the law to make sure that she was able to get compensation for her medical bills, permanent injury, and future lost wages.
For more information on this subject matter, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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