Did you know that ICE, the US Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has a fleet of vehicles (marked and unmarked) that crisscross the streets and highways of the Commonwealth of Virginia, day in and day out. Do you know what to do if you are hurt in a car accident caused by one of these vehicles?
If you were hurt in a car accident involving an ICE vehicle. and you were no way at fault for the collision, then you are entitled to file a claim! However, these claims are governed by Virginia law in part, and federal law in part. There’s a lot of moving pieces, so it is extremely important that you call an experienced car accident lawyer today!
Don’t think you’re powerless just because a federal agent was at fault for the crash! You have rights, and our Alexandria Injury Attorney can help you to get you the compensation that you deserve!
What To Do After An ICE Car Accident
If you have been involved in a car accident involving an ICE vehicle, it is extremely important to follow these steps to protect your rights, and preserve your claim:
- CALL THE POLICE: Do not forget to call the police. This cannot be stressed enough. Ice agents are federal law enforcement personnel, but they are not police officers. They do not handle traffic crashes. They are not governed by the same rules and protocols as patrol policeman. You need to call a police officer so that a report can be completed. By calling the police, you are ensuring that all of the information is preserved! The police will help to document your claim (name of the striking driver, vehicle info, etc) and preserve the evidence you need, later on.
- GET THE FEDERAL DRIVER’S LICENSE: Make sure that you get a picture of the driver’s license of the federal employee, the driver of the vehicle who caused the crash. You are entitled to this as a matter of law. If the driver of the federal vehicle refuses, again call the police. Especially if you have already called them, and they have declined to come out. This is a very different set of facts. Remember: your claim is against the driver of the at fault vehicle!
- TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES AND VIDEOS: It is extremely important to get pictures and videos of everything that you can. This means the location of the crash, roadway markings, debris, tire brake marks on the road, vehicle license plates, vehicle registrations, the driver, damage to every vehicle… In short, everything. In a world of smartphones and limitless data, you cannot have enough pictures!
- GET THE VEHICLE REGISTRATION: It is important to take pictures of the vehicle registration. As stated below, many federal vehicles do not have the white GSA license plates, but rather appear to be private vehicles and are not. Get a copy of the vehicle registration and take good clear pictures of it.
- REQUEST THE FEDERAL DRIVER’S CREDENTIALS: The driver may refuse to provide his federal law enforcement credentials. But you can still ask for them. The reason for this is to confirm that the driver actually works for that agency. For example, there may be a task force at work, and the driver may work for, like the DEA or FBI, rather than ice but still be driving an ice vehicle. It’s important to identify the agency because the claim has to be filed with the appropriate division of the federal government.
- GET MEDICALLY EVALUATED: If you are hurt, then call an ambulance and go to the hospital. Alternately, if your vehicle is drivable, you may drive yourself to the emergency room period you need to get evaluated immediately if you are hurt. Seeing your primary care doctor a few days or weeks later may be part of your continuing treatment team, but it is important for you to be evaluated by a trauma physician, depending on the mechanism of the impact, and its severity.
- CALL BLASZKOW LEGAL: Do not speak to any insurance companies. It is extremely important that you call a lawyer right away. Insurance companies are not working for you, even if you’re paying them. Their job as a business model is to pay out as little money as possible. Additionally, anything you say to an insurance company, even your own, may be used against you later on. Call our firm immediately so that we can begin protecting you from everyone who has an interest in attacking, minimizing, and denying your case. Call 703-879-5910
How To Determine If It’s An ICE Vehicle
ICE Agents, like all other special agents for the federal government, are issued a range of vehicles in the performance of their duties. Some of these vehicles are very obviously designed and purpose built for law enforcement. The most common are Ford explorers, which have antenna visible, prisoner transport cages, and a wide array of emergency lighting equipment. However, those are not the only vehicles used! A few ICE vehicles have been marked for recruitment use, but everyday-used vehicles are unmarked, uniformly.
Many ICE Agents are able to select from a range of GSA (Government Services Agency)-provided vehicles, that appear to be civilian models. These vehicles are then equipped with hidden LED emergency lights, sirens, and radios. Some are easily identifiable by the strip of LED lights along the top visor of the front window, and many receive dark tint that would be illegal in personal ownership.
Additionally, these vehicles often have state DMV-issued license plates. When reviewing police reports, these vehicles are sometimes not even identified as federal vehicles! Some, for example, are registered to phony corporations set up by the federal government (so the police report will show the vehicle registered to XYZ, LLC, which actually is a UPS store in Chantilly, for example!).
Determining who the correct agency is, is part of our investigation as we open up the file.
Different Kinds Of ICE Personnel
There are many different people who work in varying jobs for ICE. However, it doesn’t matter what the job title is – we are going to pursue the claim the same way, to get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Some examples of personnel who drive ICE vehicles:
- ICE Agents
- Criminal Investigators
- HSI personnel (Homeland Security Investigations
- Administrators
- Deportation Officers
- ERO (Enforcement and Removal Officers)
- Mission Support Specialists
How Does A Car Accident Claim Against ICE Actually Work
This is a very complicated question, as there are several determining factors that we have to evaluate in order to figure out how the claim is going to move forward. The biggest question: was the ICE Agent in the scope of his or her employment when the car accident occurred?
Ice agents are issued the vehicles that we discussed above, and generally are only supposed to be using them for work purposes. However, it is not unheard of for ice agents to go to the grocery store or to the gym, using their government issued vehicle. Oftentimes, if the trip is not a governmental purpose, and within the scope of the agent’s job duties, then the case would be generally handled like any other car accident case. We investigate, you the injured party focus on your treatment and recovery, and then we file a claim with insurance, negotiate, and if necessary file a lawsuit to get you what you are entitled to. In this fact pattern, the claim is going to be governed by Virginia law.
If, however, the agent was within the scope of his duties, the claim must be handled pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act. Under the federal tort claims act, a very very specific process has to be followed, whereby we provide a formal notification to the US government, called an SF-95. The applicable federal law then gives them 6 months to respond. If they don’t, only then can we file a lawsuit, which must be done in the US District Court.
These are of course legal peculiarities to this cases. From your standpoint, as the injured party, at the initial stage, nothing is really different. You are still focusing on getting the medical care that you need, such as following up with the doctor orthopedist, depending on your injuries, attending to physical therapy visits, and just generally focusing on your rehabilitation period while you are doing that, we are gathering evidence, and investigating the claim, to make sure that we have everything we need to prevail!
Contributory Negligence In ICE Car Accident Cases
It is important to remember that even though the at fault party in your car accident is a federal agent or federal officer, and even though the claim may ultimately be handled in a federal court, that federal court will still apply Virginia law to the claim itself. This means that Virginia’s contributory negligence standard is going to apply.
Contributory negligence is an extremely high bar, and it is a very unique legal analysis. It is sometimes called the 1% rule. It means that if you are even 1% responsible for the happening of a motor vehicle accident or pedestrian accident, then you cannot recover. The example that we give to people is being at a stop sign. If you stop at a stop sign, and the person behind you is following too closely or not paying attention, and rear ends you, then your claim is against that driver. They are generally not going to be able to argue that you did anything to cause the crash, even a little. However, if you run a red light, and so does the federal vehicle, then both parties have contributed to the happening of the crash, because both have committed some form of negligence.
It is important to remember that anything that you say can be used against you to make these contributory negligence arguments. This includes statements that you make to an insurance company. For example, the federal government may subpoena the statement you made to the insurance company to attack your claim. It is vital that you call a lawyer immediately so that we can protect you, even from yourself! Contributory negligence states such as Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC, it is vital that you speak to a car accident lawyer before anyone else.
Have You Been Hurt In A Car Accident Caused By A Federal Agent?
If you have been hurt in a car accident involving a federal agent or federal officer, do not be afraid to pursue your claim! You have rights at law, and you deserve to be able to exercise those rights. Glasgow legal is here to fight for you, even against something as big and scary as the federal government. We have pursued car accident claims against the FBI, DEA, Department of Defense and more. Their army of lawyers doesn’t scare us, because it’s our job to fight for you, the injured party.
Call us today for a free consultation anywhere in the DMV and get an experienced, aggressive team fighting for the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Call 703-879-5910 and Get Justice with Joe!