Tennessee Injury Law Center
I was in a car wreck caused by a driver who was driving a car owned by the Department of Defense. The other driver told me that she was going to a business meeting in Nashville. The wreck occurred on Interstate 40 near Mt. Juliet. Can I sue the federal government and recover damages for the injuries I received?
Yes, although there is a special law that governs the rights of people to sue the federal government for the acts and omissions of its employees. Tennessee rules of evidence and procedure do not apply to these cases, although the Tennessee driving laws will apply.
The special law that governs the process for this type of case is called the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"). The FTCA became law in 1946 and is the mechanism for compensating people injured by the negligence of federal employees. The appropriate federal agency must be given notice of the claim on an approved form and, if the case is not settled, the case must be filed in federal court. The trial is a non-jury trial.