Injured by a Government Vehicle, on Metro, or on Public Property

This chapter of The DC, Maryland & Virginia Injury Guide explains the rules for each kind of public defendant. The first step is always the same: identify exactly which government entity owned the vehicle, employed the driver, or controlled the property, because that decides which notice goes where.

Who is the right government defendant?

The answer is not always obvious here. A sidewalk in the District may belong to D.C., to the National Park Service, or to a private owner. A bus may be operated by WMATA, by a county, or by a contractor. A uniformed officer may work for the Metropolitan Police Department, a county police department, Metro Transit Police, the U.S. Park Police, or a federal agency. A crash with a mail truck is a claim against the United States. Each answer leads to a different statute, a different deadline, and a different person who must receive notice. Getting it wrong can cost the claim.

What notice is required to sue the District of Columbia?

To sue the District of Columbia for unliquidated damages from an injury, you must give written notice to the Mayor within six months after the injury, stating the approximate time, place, cause, and circumstances of the injury (D.C. Code § 12-309). A written Metropolitan Police Department report made in the regular course of duty can count as notice, but a report may not contain everything the statute requires, so we do not rely on one. We send our own notice.

The six-month clock runs from the injury, not from when you learn the District is responsible. It applies to crashes with District vehicles, falls caused by District-maintained sidewalks and streets, and injuries in District buildings. Our page on suing the District of Columbia covers these claims in depth.

Claims against Maryland counties and cities: the LGTCA

Under Maryland's Local Government Tort Claims Act, an injury claim against a county, city, or other local government requires written notice within one year after the injury, stating the time, place, and cause of the injury (Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-304). The notice must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, with a U.S. Postal Service postmark, and it goes to a specific official:

• Montgomery County and Howard County: the County Executive.
• Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, and Harford Counties: the county solicitor or county attorney.
• Baltimore City: the City Solicitor.
• Other counties: the county commissioners or county council.
• Other local governments, such as municipalities: their corporate authorities.

A court may excuse late notice for good cause unless the local government shows its defense was prejudiced, and notice is not required if the government had actual or constructive notice of the injury or the defect within the year. Do not plan on either exception.

Local government liability is capped at $400,000 per individual claim and $800,000 for all claims arising from the same occurrence, with a combined limit of $890,000 when the claim arises from a law enforcement officer's intentional tort or violation of constitutional rights. A local government may not be held liable for punitive damages (Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-303). The local government is generally responsible for judgments against its employees for torts committed within the scope of employment.

Claims against the State of Maryland: the Maryland Tort Claims Act

Maryland waives the State's immunity in tort up to $400,000 per claimant for injuries from a single incident, with higher limits for certain law enforcement misconduct (Md. Code, State Gov't § 12-104). Before suing, you must submit a written claim to the State Treasurer or a designee within one year after the injury, the claim must be finally denied, and the lawsuit must be filed within three years after the claim arises (Md. Code, State Gov't § 12-106).

The claim must state the facts, including the date and place, demand specific damages, give names and addresses, and be signed. If the Treasurer does not decide within six months, the claim is treated as finally denied (Md. Code, State Gov't § 12-107).

Claims against Virginia counties, cities, and towns

A negligence claim against a Virginia county, city, or town is barred unless a written statement of the nature of the claim, including the time and place of the injury, is filed within six months after the claim accrues (Va. Code § 15.2-209). The statement goes to the county, city, or town attorney or to the chief executive or mayor, and it is filed when it is received. It may be delivered by hand, by any form of U.S. mail, or by commercial delivery, and the claimant bears the burden of proving receipt. A late statement does not bar the claim if the locality's attorney, chief executive, mayor, or insurer had actual knowledge of the claim, including its nature, time, and place, within the six months. The statute is strictly construed.

Notice is only the first hurdle. Virginia cities and towns are immune from negligence claims arising from governmental functions, those directly related to the general health, safety, and welfare of citizens, but liable like a private party for negligence in proprietary functions, and routine maintenance of a municipal service is generally proprietary. Gambrell v. City of Norfolk, 267 Va. 353 (2004). The locality bears the burden of proving its immunity.

Claims against the Commonwealth of Virginia: the VTCA

Under the Virginia Tort Claims Act, the Commonwealth is liable for injuries caused by the negligence of its employees acting within the scope of employment, in the same circumstances where a private person would be liable. Recovery is limited to the greater of $100,000 or the limits of any liability policy covering the claim, and the Commonwealth is not liable for punitive damages or interest before judgment (Va. Code § 8.01-195.3). The Act does not apply to counties, cities, or towns.

A notice of claim stating its nature, the time and place of the injury, and the agency alleged to be liable must be filed within one year with the Director of the Division of Risk Management or the Attorney General. Claims involving the Virginia Department of Transportation are filed with the Commissioner of Highways, and claims against a transportation district with the chairman of its commission (Va. Code § 8.01-195.6). Suit may be filed after denial or six months after the notice, and must be filed within 18 months of filing the notice, or within two years after the claim accrues (Va. Code § 8.01-195.7).

How do you bring a claim against the federal government?

A claim against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act must be presented in writing to the responsible federal agency within two years after it accrues, and a lawsuit must be filed within six months after the agency mails a final denial (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)). You cannot sue until the agency denies the claim in writing or fails to decide it within six months (28 U.S.C. § 2675(a)).

The claim is usually made on Standard Form 95, and it is not "presented" unless it includes a demand for money damages in a sum certain (28 C.F.R. § 14.2). That number matters: you generally cannot sue for more than the amount in the claim unless the increase is based on newly discovered evidence or intervening facts (28 U.S.C. § 2675(b)). The United States is liable like a private person under the law of the place where the injury happened, but not for punitive damages or prejudgment interest (28 U.S.C. § 2674), and FTCA cases are tried to a judge rather than a jury (28 U.S.C. § 2402).

With so many federal agencies in the region, FTCA claims are common here: postal trucks, military and agency vehicles, federal buildings, and National Park Service land, which includes many parks, trails, and parkways in and around D.C. See our Federal Tort Claims Act page.

Can you sue WMATA for a Metro injury?

Yes, for injuries caused in WMATA's proprietary functions. Section 80 of the WMATA Compact makes the Authority liable for its torts, and those of its directors, officers, employees, and agents, "committed in the conduct of any proprietary function," under the law of the applicable jurisdiction, but not for torts "occurring in the performance of a governmental function" (D.C. Code § 9-1107.01; Va. Code § 33.2-3100; Md. Code, Transp. § 10-204). The exclusive remedy is a lawsuit against the Authority itself, which may be filed in federal court or in the courts of D.C., Maryland, or Virginia, and a case filed in a local court can be removed to federal court (Compact § 81).

Whether the act that caused an injury was proprietary or governmental is often the first thing WMATA contests. The Compact itself contains no notice-of-claim deadline, but the law of the jurisdiction where the injury happened governs the claim, including its statute of limitations and contributory negligence. Our WMATA and Metro injuries page covers rail, bus, escalator, and platform cases.

Local bus systems are different. Ride On, TheBus, the Fairfax Connector, ART, and DASH are run by or for local governments, so the rules for the government that operates the service, and that government's notice deadline, can apply.

Key points

• Identify exactly which government owned the vehicle or property or employed the driver; it decides the statute, the deadline, and who gets notice.
• Notice deadlines: six months to the D.C. Mayor or a Virginia locality; one year to a Maryland local government, the Maryland Treasurer, or Virginia's Division of Risk Management or Attorney General; two years for a federal FTCA claim.
• Caps: $400,000 per claim against Maryland local governments and the State; the greater of $100,000 or insurance limits against the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• No punitive damages against Maryland local governments, the Commonwealth of Virginia, or the United States; FTCA cases are tried to a judge.
• WMATA can be sued for torts in its proprietary functions, under the law of the place where the injury happened.

• Previous chapter: Deadlines and the Timeline of a DMV Injury Case
• Next chapter: Social Media and Other Mistakes That Hurt Your Case

Related practice areas

Related reading

• Suing the District of Columbia: the § 12-309 six-month notice
• Maryland's LGTCA notice letter: the one-year trap
• Suing the government in Virginia: the Tort Claims Act's short deadlines
• Hurt on Metro: WMATA injury claims and the immunity wrinkles
• Hurt by the State of Maryland: why a $2 million verdict became $400,000
• Deadlines and the Timeline of a DMV Injury Case

Responsible attorneys: Ryan C. Posey and Jacob M. Lebowitz. Posey Lebowitz PLLC, 3221 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007.