Were you injured in an accident involving an Imperial County employee or an entity that’s owned by Imperial County? If your injuries were caused by an act of negligence or misconduct, you may have grounds to demand monetary compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. The legal process of suing the government is covered by the California Tort Claims Act (CTCA). However, these lawsuits are very complicated due to the fact that government agencies have sovereign immunity, i.e., immunity from most types of civil lawsuits. However, there are situations that entitle you to compensation if a government agency or one of its workers is liable for your accident.
Navigating a government agency claim is difficult when you don’t have extensive knowledge of the law. Legal advice from an experienced accident injury attorney is highly recommended if you’ve been injured in one of the following accidents with an Imperial County agency, vehicle, employee, or public transportation system:
- Slip and fall
- Trip and fall
- Sidewalk accidents
- County vehicle accident – truck, fire truck, ambulance accidents
- Bus accident (Imperial Valley Transit – IVT)
- Injuries and accidents in county-owned property or lands
- Accidents in schools run by Imperial County
- Assault claims / sexual assault claims against city employees
- Workplace Injury accident
To learn about your rights and legal options, contact our law firm to schedule a free case review. We represent accident victims in all Imperial County cities, including El Centro, Calexico, Brawley, Imperial, Calipatria, Holtville, Salton city and Heber.
Our Recent Verdicts and Settlements
$2.5 Million
$1.1 Million
$1.5 Million
$600,000
$525,000
$734,851
How to File an Accident Claim against Imperial County
Under the CTCA, a California state, county, or city agency can be sued for personal injury and property damage under certain conditions. Situations where Imperial County is responsible for an accident include:
- Careless or reckless actions by county employees
- Negligent acts by independent contractors hired by the county
- Injuries from hazards on county-owned properties (law of premises liability)
- Accidents caused by a county agency or employee’s failure to obey the law
If the cause of your accident meets one of these criteria, you must file a “Claim for Damages against the County of Imperial” complaint form, which can be found online at or at the County Clerks’ office. Please be aware that your claim must be submitted within 6 months from your accident date. If you don’t file your claim by the 6-month deadline, you will lose the right to demand monetary compensation from the county.
Make sure to be through and detailed as possible, especially for sections like “Give a description of the injury, property damage, or loss, so far as is known at the time of the claim” and “Describe how the County of Imperial or its employees were at fault.” If the information on your claim form is insufficient or unclear, it will be sent back to you with a request for more information. This can add weeks or months to the settlement process, which is the last thing you want when you’re trying to recover your expenses after an accident.
Keep in mind that you will evidence to back up your allegations, which can be difficult to obtain and assemble on your own. The accident injury lawyers of Normandie have many years of experience with California government agency claims. We are more than ready to handle the claims process on your behalf and fight for every penny of the settlement you deserve.
What happens after you File your Claim
After you submit your claim to the appropriate agency, you can expect one of the following results:
- Your claim will be approved in full or in part, meaning the agency will offer you a settlement.
- You receive a denial of your claim in writing.
- Your claim is sent back to you because of missing / insufficient information.
- Your claim is denied because you’ve exceeded the 6-month deadline to file your complaint.
Alternatively, you may not receive any kind of response from the agency within 45 days. At that point, it can be assumed that the claim is rejected, and you can move forth with a lawsuit. You will first need to file a petition with the court, which will approve or deny your request to sue Imperial County. If your petition is approved, you must act quickly, since you only have 30 days to file a lawsuit. If your petition is denied, you can still appeal the court’s decision. To improve your chances for a successful appeal, please call us to discuss your case with a California personal injury lawyer.
Compensation for Workplace Injuries
Many people are injured in the workplace, or while they’re performing a job-related task. Since you were injured on the job, you are entitled to the cost of your medical expenses and lost wages through a workers’ compensation claim. To ensure timely payment of your benefits, report your accident to your employer right away. This way, they can provide you with the paperwork you’ll need to fill out and assign you to a doctor from their provider network. Because this is a benefit guaranteed by the state, workers’ compensation is a fairly straightforward process.
Unfortunately, there’s no denying that these payments are inadequate for many workers that are dealing with serious injuries. That’s why it’s essential to discuss your legal rights with a third party liability lawsuit attorney. If Imperial County is responsible for your accident, you may be able to sue them for damages that are not covered by workers’ compensation, such as pain and suffering and mental anguish. To learn more about the ways you can maximize your payment, contact our office for a free consultation with a California workplace injury lawyer.
Average Case Value of a Lawsuit against Imperial County
Naturally, you are curious about the amount you can recover from a successful claim against Imperial County. However, there’s no easy answer to this question, as there are too many circumstances that are unique to each individual victim. These include the extent of your injuries, long-term complications to your physical and mental health, if there is any property damage, and if the county’s negligence was especially harmful or outrageous.
Based on previous settlements and verdicts at our law firm, your settlement may be in the range of $15,000 to $40,000 for minor injury claims. However, claims involving severe injuries and extensive property damage may be worth anywhere from $500,000 to several million dollars. An attorney at our office will be happy to sit down with you and help you figure out what you can potentially receive from a lawsuit.
How long will it take to Settle my Claim?
Ideally, we will be able to submit your claim and settle your case for a fair amount of compensation within 6 to 8 months. But how long it takes to settle these cases depend on many factors, primarily, Imperial County’s response to your claim. If your claim is rejected or there is no response to your demands, we will need to proceed with a lawsuit, which can take anywhere from two or more years to resolve.
Statute of Limitations to Sue Imperial County
The statute of limitations to file a lawsuit for damages against Imperial County depends on whether you receive a response to your claim. If the county gets back to you in 45 days with a notice of rejection (claim denial), you will have 6 months to petition the court for a lawsuit. What happens if you don’t hear back from them within 45 days? In that case, your statute of limitations is two years, starting from the date of your accident.
Contact Normandie Law Firm
Going up against a government agency is undeniably challenging, due to the immunity laws that are in place to protect them. Skilled and experienced legal representation is the key to overcoming these hurdles and obtaining the compensation you deserve. Here at Normandie, we have decades of experience in the recovery of accident settlements against government agencies throughout California. We are more than ready for the challenge of fighting for you, so don’t hesitate to give us a call.
If you’ve filed a claim or lawsuit already, perhaps we can assist you with a free second opinion. This way, you can be sure that your case is on the right track. If it’s not, we are happy to advise you of your legal options, though whether you follow through on these recommendations is completely up to you. No matter what, you will not be charged for a second opinion with one of our attorneys.
Regardless of where you are in the claims process, we will provide you with a Zero fee guarantee to protect your finances. You pay nothing upfront to hire us, since our lawyers work on contingency. That means we only get paid by winning your case, and if we don’t recover your payment, you owe us absolutely nothing. Please contact our office and take some time to speak with one of our legal experts.
