Federal Tort Claims Act Subrogation

The federal government is everywhere. It employs nearly 9.1 million workers, which is nearly 6% of total U.S. workforce.

This includes nearly 2.1 million federal employees, 4.1 million contract employees, 1.2 million grant employees, 1.3 million active duty military personnel, and more than 500,000 postal service employees. They operate trucks, construct highways, build buildings, drive heavy equipment, blanket our highways with government vehicles, and are ubiquitous in our national economy.

Every year, government pays an estimated $35 billion annually because of vehicle crashes alone, an estimated 12.6% of the total economic cost of crashes (Federal 7.1%, State/local 5.5%). For limited government advocates, the numbers are astonishing.

For subrogation professionals, however, the numbers should represent a tremendous opportunity.

The federal government does not simply roll over and let you sue them. They enjoy sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity refers to a government’s immunity from being sued by its citizens in its own courts without its consent.