Florida’s Sovereign Immunity Law is Unfair and Dangerous

In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln declared that we are a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Sadly, this message has not registered with Florida lawmakers. (Please see this blog for a significant modification of this statement.)

As should be the case, individuals and corporations whose negligence causes harm in Florida must pay full compensation for the damage caused by those acts. (Major exception: doctors and medical facilities.) For example, if a civil jury renders a verdict against driver A in the amount of $1,000,000 for crashing into the rear of driver B at 60 mph while operating a company vehicle, a judgment in that amount will be entered by the court against driver A and the company. (Whether or not driver A and the company have the capacity to pay, through insurance or otherwise, is another issue.)

Unfortunately, this would not be the outcome if the at-fault vehicle were owned by the government. In that situation, Florida law (768.28(5)) nullifies the voice of the jury, only allowing the judge to enter a judgment against the government (e.g., city, state, governmental agency, village, etc.) in the amount of $100,000. That’s right. The government is not subject to the considered decision of the jury. If that isn’t bad enough, when the negligence occurs at the planning level stage, instead of at the operational stage, the government has absolute immunity from being sued. This means that a lawsuit will not be allowed to proceed against the government when the negligence occurs at the planning stage.

Parties held fully accountable for the consequences of their actions learn to modify their behavior for the better. Those not held accountable, do not learn or modify. This is the problem with Florida’s sovereign (i.e., government) immunity law. The sovereign acts with impunity because the consequences of its bad acts are de minimus. I say take away the government’s sovereign immunity. Make it equally accountable as private individuals and corporations. Maybe then the sovereign will act as it should, with due regard for the health, safety, and welfare of the people, instead of the other way around. As Abraham Lincoln famously said, we are a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

**************************************
Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. is a South Florida based law firm committed to the judicial system and to representing and obtaining justice for individuals – the poor, the injured, the forgotten, the voiceless, the defenseless and the damned, and to protecting the rights of such people from corporate and government oppression. We do not represent government, corporations or large business interests.

So MAD! says:

December 31, 1969 at 6:00 pm

On May 3rd my Husband was in a severe Automobile accident, he was hit head-on by an off duty officer, while driving a county owned vehicle,… My husband suffered a broken shoulder, elbow and it shattered his hip, he had extensive surgery to repair his hip, and told that hip replacement will be mandatory in the next year to three years, and he is only 48 years old, we are self-employed and unsure that he will ever be able to continue our line of work, because it is very hard labor. And because of the SOVEREIGN AMMUNITY LAW, we can only collect $100,000.00 per claiment (maybe) in compensation, or so we thought, now we have receive a letter from the county insurance company telling us they are sorry, but they are not liable. and hi-lighted the clause in their policy that exempts them from paying, I know this is going to be long and drawn out and i am very discouraged,…!

I forgot to tell you, his blood acohol level was .231. We are 14 weeks out of surgery, we are still in therapy learning to walk again, self-employed, and not sure he will work agaiin like he use too….. Future so unsure…. Plus we ar facing more surgery…..

I forgot to mention that the driver of the other vehicle blood alcohol level was .231…

where to buy birkenstocks says:

October 2, 2016 at 4:02 pm

I have been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thank you, I藝ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your web site?