When a high speed police chase ends in a car accident, particularly where there is a wrongful death or serious personal injury, a lawsuit is often filed against the county or city involved. Unfortunately, this can prove to be a difficult task due to the sovereign immunity granted to the state, its counties and municipalities by the Georgia Constitution. Sovereign immunity precludes the state, counties or municipalities from liability arising from their various duties in carrying out specific services for the taxpayers such as police work, fire protection, and even garbage pickup. In other words, these government entities cannot be found liable in a court of law and required to pay damages unless sovereign immunity has first been waived.
The good news is there is a very specific exception to sovereign immunity in Georgia that applies to the negligent use of government owned motor vehicles; hence police chases may involve a limited waiver of immunity. Georgia law provides that a government entity's sovereign immunity may be waived up to the limits of liability insurance secured by the entity for damages arising out of the ownership or use of a motor vehicle. Not all, but many counties and cities in Georgia insure their police vehicles for liability which allows for this limited waiver of immunity in police pursuit car accident cases.
Most recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals held in McCobb v. Clayton County, a wrongful death case involving a high speed police chase, that Clayton County had waived its sovereign immunity up to the monetary limits of the liability insurance it had purchased for coverage of negligent use of its motor vehicles. In this case, the plaintiff had argued under OCGA 40-6-6 that the police officer engaged in the high speed pursuit of a vehicle had acted with reckless disregard for proper law enforcement procedures and the public safety causing a fatal accident. Interestingly, the police vehicle never touched the other vehicle - instead, the driver lost control while being chased and crashed into a tree killing the passenger. The County argued that once plaintiff showed a waiver of sovereign immunity by the county's purchase of a liability policy covering its police vehicles for "negligent use", the plaintiff was then precluded from arguing the police officer acted with disregard for proper police procedures and the public safety in chasing the vehicle thus preventing the plaintiff from showing that the police officer's conduct was the proximate cause of the injury, a necessary element to the plaintiff's case.
The Appellate Court found the County's argument "nonsensical" ruling that the fact the waiver of sovereign immunity was couched in terms of "negligent use" of a motor vehicle did not preclude the plaintiff from making a claim under OCGA 40-6-6 that the police officer acted without due regard for the public safety causing the wrongful death of plaintiff's decedent and allowing the plaintiff to sue Clayton County for damages up to the amount of liability insurance it carried on its police vehicles.
Because such claims are particularly time sensitive, often requiring notice be given to the entity within six months of the event, please do not delay in discussing your case with an experienced trial attorney. We are always available to answer any questions you may have regarding a claim you may have for personal injury.
