Cousin got hit by a city vehicle — does suing the government work differently?
Posting this for my cousin because she doesn't do social media and I'm trying to help her figure out next steps.
About three weeks ago she was stopped at a red light when a city public works truck rolled into her from behind. The driver was clearly on the clock — truck had the city logo on the side, the whole thing. Police came out and the report puts fault squarely on the city driver, no dispute there.
Here's my situation: I spent several years working in auto claims at a regional carrier, so I know how the normal injury claim dance goes pretty well. Medical documentation, demand letters, negotiating with adjusters, all that. I could probably walk her through it if this were a standard insurance claim.
But this isn't standard. The city doesn't have a typical insurance policy — they handle everything through their own risk management office. And from what I've read, there are things like government tort claim filing deadlines that are way shorter than a normal statute of limitations. Miss one of those windows and apparently you can lose the right to recover anything at all.
Her injuries aren't catastrophic — some neck and shoulder pain, currently in PT, nothing surgical so far — but she's not 100% either and we don't know yet how long recovery takes.
My question for anyone who's been through something like this: is a government claim basically the same process once you get past the initial filing, or is it genuinely a different animal? I'd hate for her to pay a big chunk of a settlement to an attorney if I could help her handle it myself. But I also don't want to fumble a procedural step and tank her whole claim.
Anyone dealt with a city or county claim before? Really appreciate any input.