I was in a line of about 7 cars pulled off to the side of the road during a high speed pursuit. 1 of the police officers in pursuit, lost control, hit my car, and kept going. NO ONE, even the officers not involved in the pursuit, left the scene without checking on me. Long story short, there was in excess of $2200 of damage done to my car that their insurance company, travelers, refused to pay due to the "sovergn immunity" clause. They deemed going in excess of 107 mph, down a 2 lane highway, at night, out of the jurisdiction of the officer in pursuit, NOT a negligent pursuit. I ended up settling with the city administrator rather than dealing with a long drawn out lawsuit against the city several lawyers said I wouldn't win due to the sovergn immunity law, and if I did win, they were taking 40% (continegency fee). I have since been told that I have cause to sue the individual who actually caused the high speed chase to begin with, since "but for" his actions, the accident would not have happened. I was wondering if this is true. If I could re-coup my remaining losses, it would be wonderful! I am out the damage depreciation for my classic, antique, collector car, time from work, mileage to gather information, police reports (along with paying for those reports), etc. this individual has the same auto insurance carrier I have. If I have a case, and I do sue him, would this affect my insurance policy or rates? Would I even sue the carrier or would I sue him directly? He fled following an issue of road rage against his girlfriend who had a t.p.o. against him. Thanks for any help, advice you can provide

Where? The law differs.

Yes, you have an action against the Police. Let them bring in the third party (the speeder). At the moment I don't see a direct connection between you and the speeder. You're better off going after the Police, anyway, because they are self insured.

You sue the policy holder, not the company. In fact, you don't sue. You file a claim. They don't pay or won't settle, then you sue.

I think an argument could be made that the other car was not the cause of the damage to your car.

What is sovergn immunity law?

You can sue for any amount for anything. Just make sure you can prove your damages using official or recognized experts.

And your expenses in preparing a lawsuit are NOT reimbursable.

Since you settled with the city, you can no longer sue the police or police officers or city ( and that was your mistake, you could have easily sued them and won, and you had to pay out 40 percent, since you did not have the money merely to hire an attorney by the hour to do this.

But you could have included legal fees as part of what you were suing for. You signed away your best chance.

But yes, the criminal who started all of this could also be sued, at least in my state, since his actions was the direct cause of the chase and accident.

ANY question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area.

Chuck is right that you probably gave up any cause of action against the city and police by settling.

You could file a claim with the insurer of the party that indirectly caused the accident. If they refuse they claim you would have to sue them.

How much of the damage/expenses did the City actually pay? You cannot double dip. (I don't think there's an action against the speeder but it would be interesting to know 100%).

I'm not trying to "double dip" and I know that I waived any further action against the city and police. My question evolves from someone mentioning to me that I may have a "cause of action" against the individual for the monies NOT filed against the city police. "sovergn immunity" is a law that was created in the 1700's to prevent people from suing government offices resulting from their normal functions and will only be waived if proven that the official involved was acting negligently and was adopted to the Georgia constitution in 1992 across the board. The accident happened on hwy 11 in bethlehem Georgia. The private insurance binder the city has, travelers, denied the claim so I contacted the city administrator. I have not and will not sue anyone friviously. I was re-imbursed by the city a total of $2400. That included 5 days off work, payment for 2 police reports/accident reports/incident report the officer completed, 1 doctor visit and 2 prescriptions, as well as $2150 towards the repair on my car. What I would be seeking from the individual that caused the chase that caused the wreck, would be for the other expenses I incurred but did not received re-imbursement for. For example, I did not receive anything for the depreciation of my car due to the wreck, mileage, having to hire someone to care for my father (I am his caregiver after working 18 years as a trauma/critical care specialist) my father has a.l.s. (lou gherig's disease and cannot be left alone), and the like. I am not wishing to receive anything for pain and suffering and the like- something 3 lawyers had stated to do, as well as go to a chiropractor to "establish a personal injury claim". I'm not after any of that and don't believe in it. I simply would like to receive what is fair and what I am due. "but for" his actions, I never would have suffered a loss period and I do not believe it is right that I am an innocent by-stander, abiding by the law, and he is not being held accountable. Any ideas??

Yes. Sue the other driver and see how it plays out. There is nothing else you can do.