Cases Against the Government

I was driving in Nashville and a police car ran a red light and plowed right into the side of me. I had to go to the hospital and they discovered that I broke my leg in the crash. Can I sue the police officer for causing the wreck?

Under Tennessee law, you cannot sue the police officer but you can sue the local government that employed the police officer. Therefore, if the police officer was employed by Metro Nashville, you can sue Metro Nashville.

Under Tennessee law, a governmental entity is responsible for certain negligent acts and omissions of its employees but its financial responsibility is capped at $300,000 for any one person, regardless of the seriousness of the injuries or even if the person is killed by the negligent act or omission. Damages to property are limited to $100,000.

I live in a small town in Middle Tennessee. I just had an addition put on my house. The building inspector from my town came and approved the work done on the house, including the electrical work. Two days later the entire house burned. The cause of the fire was improper wiring work on the new addition. Can I sue the building inspector for failing to discover the bad wiring job?

No. Under Tennessee law a local government cannot be sued for negligent inspection. Thus, even if you could show that the building inspector did a bad job, neither the inspector nor his employer can be sued.

You may have a claim against the electrical contractor and perhaps even the general contractor. An experienced trial lawyer can help you investigate this claim and determine what rights, if any, you have.

Articles Posted in Cases Against the Government

My Car Was Hit By a Police Car!

The Building Inspector Messed Up!