Holding a government employee responsible for injuries in Georgia: Ante litem notices

 

If you’re hurt by a police officer involved in a high-speed pursuit or county employee negligently driving a government truck, you must follow a complicated set of procedures to recover for your injuries. This is because the government and/or its employees are protected under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Not closely following these procedures will cause you to quickly lose your claim on a technicality.

The blog deals with the very first requirement, which is sending an ante litem notice. An ante litem notice is a letter sent to the government entity that describes the details of the incident, explains why the government entity is responsible, and states the injuries sustained. In theory, an ante litem notice is required to give the government entity an opportunity to timely investigate the allegations. With few exceptions, failure to timely send an ante litem notice to the correct entity ends a claim for injuries.

Generally, claims vary by the type of government entity: for example, counties, cities/municipalities, state entities, or federal entities. Below is a quick overview of some basic aspects of ante litem notice requirements.

With respect to a county entity (for example, a county sheriff’s office), an ante litem notice must be presented within 12 months of the injury. Each county is set up a little differently, but generally notice should go to the county attorney and county board of commissioners. With respect to a city or municipality, an ante litem notice must be presented within six months of the injury. Notice is normally sent to the mayor and the city attorney. Ante litem notices to the State of Georgia must be presented within twelve months after the injury. The notice must be delivered to the Risk Management Division of the Department of Administrative Services as well as the government office that is the basis for the claim. Finally, claims against the Federal Government and/or its employees requires submitting a Form 95 administrative claim to the responsible federal agency within two years of the injury.

Even though in our 20 plus years of practicing law we’ve personally never known a government agency take any action in response to an ante litem notice, Georgia courts strictly apply these rules and they must be carefully followed.