A fundamental principle of our civil legal system is the right to recover compensation for bodily injury claim from the person who caused the injury. But when that person is a government agent or employee, the injured person’s right to sue may be barred by the doctrine of Governmental Immunity.
Governmental immunity essentially protects the government from certain types of lawsuits. Immunity for government and city workers often comes up in car accident cases when drivers are injured by police officers or emergency vehicles during “hot pursuits,” high-speed chases, or some other traffic accident.
In Wisconsin, the rule on governmental immunity can be found in Wis. Stat. § 893.80. The law provides limited immunity for government officers, agencies, or employees “for acts done in the exercise of legislative, quasi-legislative, judicial or quasi-judicial functions.” The courts have found these words to be synonymous with discretion. In other words, when a government worker is performing a discretionary duty and injures someone, the injured person usually may not bring a lawsuit against the government worker for their injuries.
However, the rule of immunity is not absolute. There are several exceptions:
- The Known Danger Exception: When a situation is so dangerous that it is clear the government employee is required to act in some specific way, but failed to. In those cases, the government will not be entitled to immunity.
- The Ministerial Duty Exception: When the police officer is required by law to act in some specific way, immunity will not apply to shield the officer from suit.
If you were injured in an auto accident by a police officer, or as the result of a governmental worker’s actions, talk to one of our experienced bodily Injury claim attorneys today. You may very well be able to recover, despite the immunity doctrine.
Since 1883, the attorneys at Doar, Drill & Skow have represented families, individuals, and businesses across Wisconsin and Minnesota in areas of personal injury, criminal defense, family law and divorce, civil litigation, estate planning, trusts, workers’ compensation, and more. We are recognized as one of western Wisconsin’s most skilled and successful personal injury law firms and have built our reputation on what we achieve for our clients. We are committed to being your advocate, regardless of your circumstances.
DISCLAIMER: The Doar, Drill, and Skow blog is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended as legal or medical advice. References to laws are based on general legal practices and vary by location. Information reported may come from secondary news sources. We do handle these types of cases, but whether the individuals and/or loved ones involved in these types of situations choose to be represented by a law firm is a personal choice we respect. Should you find any of the information incorrect, we welcome you to contact us with corrections.