Potholes have the ability to cause serious injuries in a car accident. A driver can either run over the pothole and lose control of their vehicle, or they could swerve to avoid it and end up off the roadway or in the path of another car. In that event, your lawsuit may be against the government as opposed to another driver who was involved in the crash. Do not count on the government doing the right thing because they are the government. You can still expect a difficult legal process unfolding ahead of you. 

You May Be Able to File a Lawsuit Against the Government

The government is the likely defendant in any lawsuit that stems from a defect in the road, such as a pothole. They have a legal obligation to maintain the roadways in a reasonably safe condition. The government does not act as a guarantor of your safety when you are on the roads. Still, the government agency that is tasked with maintaining the roadways must remedy a defect within a reasonable amount of time after it knew or should have known about it. They cannot get away with simply claiming that they had no idea that there was a problem if too much time has passed since it first arose. 

Even though the government has sovereign immunity under many circumstances, you can still hold an agency liable for certain types of negligence. You cannot sue individual government employees, but there are circumstances in which an agency may waive its immunity to allow a lawsuit. Nonetheless, you must be aware of certain specific rules that apply under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act that are not in place when you are suing a private entity. 

You Must Be Mindful of the Correct Procedure

Here, the differences in a lawsuit against the government are procedural in nature. Before you are able to file any claim or lawsuit, you must give the government notice. There is a requirement under the law to provide the agency with this notice within 180 days after your accident. In other words, you cannot go directly to court without going through the government first. You cannot assume that the standard three-year statute of limitations applies because you may miss a crucial deadline.

After you have given the agency initial notice, you have one year from the date of the incident to file your actual claim. You must go through the government first to allow them to respond to your claim. The government could accept liability and make you a settlement offer. In that event, you can proceed to negotiate with the government, subject to the damages caps imposed by the law. However, the government is not always easy to negotiate with because they are trying to protect its own budget. They can be as difficult as any insurance company, requiring you to have a lawyer for a chance at securing the best possible outcome.

It is only if the government denies your claim, or if you are unable to reach a settlement agreement, that you are able to go to court. If you have to file a lawsuit, the standard statute of limitations does not apply to your case.

You May Face Limitations on Your Damages

When you do file a claim or lawsuit against the government, there are some limitations on the damages that you may be able to receive. Each claimant is limited to $300,000, with an overall limit of $600,000 per accident. Further, you cannot obtain any punitive damages from the government because they do not waive its sovereign immunity in this regard. Nonetheless, you may still be able to obtain full compensation within the damages cap. 

Contact Our Mt. Pleasant Car Accident Lawyers at Rogers, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC

If you have been injured by a pothole or other road defect, our Mt. Pleasant car accident lawyers at Rogers, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC can help you take on the government. Schedule a free initial consultation with a car accident attorney by contacting us online or calling 843-727-6500. Our offices are located in Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Aiken, and Columbia, South Carolina, and we serve clients throughout the state.