Avera Law Firm

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Sunday, March 19, 2006

Sovereign Immunity Caps? How Do They Work?

After I posted some information about sovereign immunity and the caps that are imposed upon a claimant, someone posted a question about how they work. Let's work through a scenario on a case we handled a couple of years ago.

Let's say a deputy with a sheriff's department is responding to a disturbance call. There is really no rush to get there. A couple is arguing and one of them have called the sheriff's department. The deputy is relatively inexperienced.

As the deputy is on his way to the call, driving 20mph over the speed limit, he approaches a red light. He turns on his overhead lights, but not his siren.

A gentleman is driving thru the intersection with the green light. He is divorced but has 4 children he is supporting. The deputy runs the red light without stopping and plows into this gentleman's car. The gentleman and father of 4 dies from the collision.

Under current Florida law, the deputy cannot be individually sued because he was acting within the scope and course of his duties. The sheriff's department can be sued but their liability for damages is capped.

The family files a lawsuit against the sheriff's department for negligence. The sheriff's department refuses to even consider paying anything over their statutory caps of $100,000 per person of $200,000 per incident.

A jury hears the case and returns a jury verdict of 7 figures. The sheriff's department pays $200,000 and says the case is over. Can you collect the amount over $200,000?

To collect anything over $200,000, your lawyer will have to find a member of the Florida house of representatives and the Florida senate to sponsor a "claims bill". A claims bill is a bill that the legislature considers, after it passes through committees, to become law requiring the offending agency to pay the amount over the caps. In the last 4 years, passing a claims bill in the republican controlled legislature has been almost impossible.

So, in these days and times, it is often difficult to find a lawyer willing to undertake a sovereign immunity case. And, even if the jury returns a large verdict for all of the damages, there is no guarantee that the legislature will authorize a claims bill for the amount over the cap limits.

Hardly a fair system but that is the one you and your family are faced with today.

Please feel free to submit comments or ask questions. As always, be healthy and be safe.

posted by Mark Avera at 3/19/2006 06:08:00 PM

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