If you have been injured by an Idaho state, county, or city employee and you want to bring a civil lawsuit for damages, you MUST file a notice of tort claim before you can bring a lawsuit to recover for your injuries. Even if the potential defendant is not an employee – you still must file the notice of tort claim to have a chance to recover money damages from injuries or death that resulted from a government employee or agent’s negligence. The law in Idaho requires that the tort claims notice must be filed WITHIN 180 days of the date of your injuries. Again, if you do not file the notice of tort claims within that time, you HAVE NO RIGHT TO SUE.
If your case involves any of the following types of entities or their employees or agents, you will need to file a Tort Claims Notice before you can bring suit:
- State office or department;
- State agency, authority, commission or board;
- State hospital;
- State college or university;
- County;
- City;
- Municipal Corporation;
- Health District;
- School District;
- Irrigation District;
- Special Improvement or Taxing District;
- Hospital or Nursing Home established by a County or City;
- Any other State or local governmental entity
There is no "form" that is required for your tort claims notice, but it must include certain information including the conduct and circumstances which brought about the injury; the nature of the injury or damage; the time and place the injury or damage occurred; the names of all persons involved; the amount of damages claimed; the residence of the claimant.
This is a very important requirement that you may not get right if you rely on your own understanding of the law. If you get this one wrong – you have no case, so get some help. Call a lawyer who has experience with this. I have had to tell that potential client that his right to sue under state law was gone because he had failed to file a proper notice of tort claim, and that was a conversation I will never forget. So get some help.