The United States Postal Service plays a vital role in delivering mail across the country, serving millions of homes and businesses nationwide. With such extensive operations, particularly in large and populous states like Texas, a significant workforce is needed to ensure mail reaches its destination.
Mail delivery depends on a fleet of vehicles, from delivery vans to commercial trucks. Unfortunately, accidents involving these USPS delivery vehicles occur regularly throughout the postal service’s daily operations.
While you can get compensation for damage to your car and any injuries you’ve suffered in a traffic accident involving a USPS delivery vehicle, your claim won’t be like most other auto accident claims. Since the United States Postal Service is a federal government agency, you’ll typically have to pursue compensation through a government tort claim once you’ve exhausted benefits available to you from your insurance company.
Working with an experienced Round Rock delivery van accident lawyer can help ensure you navigate this complex process correctly.
What’s a Government Tort Claim?
The government (and its employees, such as USPS postal workers) are generally immune from liability in civil lawsuits. That is, unless the government agency or its employees are negligent and contribute to someone’s injury or wrongful death. When a postal worker causes a traffic accident in Texas, the USPS can be sued for damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
Before you can sue the postal service in federal court, you’ll need to take a few extra steps. Skipping these steps can prevent you from recovering any compensation from the federal government, even if the USPS is responsible for your car accident. It’ll be important to work with an experienced Round Rock delivery van accident attorney to make sure all requirements are satisfied.
File a Claim With the USPS
You have two years from the date of your USPS delivery vehicle accident to file a claim with the Postal Service. Specifically, you must file Standard Form 95 – Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death. Here, you’ll lay out your case against the USPS, explain your damages, and request a specific amount of compensation from the government agency.
The USPS will have six months to consider your claim. It can agree to pay your requested damages, offer a settlement, or deny the claim in full.
If the USPS denied your claim or offered what you believe to be an unreasonably low settlement, you’ll have up to six months to file a personal injury lawsuit in federal court.
File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Federal Court
Since mail carriers are federal workers, you’ll have to file your USPS delivery vehicle accident lawsuit in federal court, rather than with a Texas state court.
There are four federal US Districts in Texas: Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western. Each district handles cases in different parts of the state. So, for instance, if you get into a USPS delivery van accident in Round Rock, you’d file your lawsuit with the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, likely with the Austin Division.
From here, your lawsuit will move forward like other types of personal injury cases. You’ll have the burden of proving that the USPS, or its employee, was negligent and, because of that, you suffered injuries or the wrongful death of someone you love.
If you can prove your allegations against the federal agency by a preponderance of the evidence (your claims are more likely true than not), you can force the Postal Service to pay damages for your medical bills, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and other losses.
Need Help After a Round Rock Delivery Van Accident With a USPS Vehicle in Texas?
Contact Dow Law Firm for help after an accident with a USPS delivery vehicle in Round Rock, TX. Whether you got into a collision with one of the Postal Service’s large commercial trucks on the interstate or a residential USPS delivery van on a local highway, our delivery van accident attorneys in Round Rock can help you navigate the claims process and fight for a substantial monetary award.
We offer a free consultation. Contact our Round Rock delivery van accident lawyers today at (512) 240-9951 to discuss your USPS delivery vehicle accident case.