The Court of Appeals recently ruled on the application of pre-suit notice statutes to public employees.[1] Our firm was not involved in this case.
A public employee allegedly caused an injury accident while acting within the scope of a public agency’s employment and driving an agency-owned vehicle. The injured party filed suit against the driver and the governmental agency, but without first serving the governmental agency a statutory claims form.
The agency moved for summary judgment dismissal because the claims form was not served and the statute of limitations had run in the meantime. The injured party then amended the complaint, dismissing the public agency but not the employee.
Because in general employees are liable independent of the liability of the employer, the trial court denied dismissal of the employee driver.
The Court of Appeals reversed. The public agency would still be required by law to pay for the defense of the employee, even if the governmental agency is not a party to the personal injury lawsuit. The statutes that require pre-suit claims forms specifically list a claim against an employee as requiring a claims form before filing suit. The Court also rejected a separation of powers constitutional arguments.
The upshot is that no matter the fault of the other driver and no matter how serious the injuries and the effects on the injured party’s life, the injured person may never pursue the claim because and no statutorily required claims form was served before the lawsuit was filed and now the statute of limitations has run. It is imperative that an injured person contact a personal injury attorney early, and certainly well in advance of the statute of limitations.
[1] Hanson v. Carmona, ____ Wn.App. ____ (37419-0-III April 27, 2021).