“I have been harmed (either physically or financially) by the actions of a government entity.  Is there anything I can do?” We field questions like this often. The most common answer is, “It depends.”

While historically government was immune from suit under an old English concept in the law called “sovereign immunity” – literally decreeing that the king or queen could not be sued – the laws in the United States today have carved out significant exceptions to this principle. In Iowa, a law called the Iowa Tort Claims Act (Iowa Code Section 669 today) was passed in 1964 which specifically made the State of Iowa liable for common negligence and other matters, if certain procedures are followed in making a claim.  The same sort of liability potentially exists for cities, counties, and other government entities in Iowa under a similar statute, Iowa Code Section 670. In short, both Code sections provide that government entities in Iowa can be made liable for the harms to citizens they commit through wrongful or negligent acts of its employees acting in the scope of their duties.

So while some people may be inclined to throw up their arms, or shrug their shoulders, and declare with resignation “You can’t beat city hall,” many times you can get redress against city hall – or any other number of government subdivisions in Iowa. The right lawyer can help you figure out of you have a valid claim, and if so can help you navigate the process and get a fair recovery.

ABOUT BRAD SCHROEDER

Brad is a co-founder and partner in the law firm Hartung Schroeder. He believes in advocating for people in many areas of the law. He regularly represents clients in matters pertaining to family law, business law and personal injury. You can learn more about Brad or get in touch with him here.

“I have never sued anyone before, or even thought about it, but my dad died recently while in the hospital for what was supposed to be a routine procedure. Several hospital staff have indicated to us we should maybe talk to someone about what happened, and the doctor avoids us and really won’t tell us anything.”

If you or a friend, neighbor, or co-worker find yourself in this situation, you are not alone. It can be hard to know when it makes sense to seek a lawyer’s advice. No one wants to run out and file a lawsuit without knowing all the facts, or even point the finger.  It’s uncomfortable. And dealing with the death of your loved one is difficult enough. Often it isn’t until some time has passed, and family members have had a chance to grieve, that nagging questions about what happened and why, will cause someone to send an email or pick up the phone and just inquire about what it would take to get better answers. Usually, most people are after primarily one thing – closure.  Sometimes talking with an attorney can offer that, and afford a chance to simply talk about the what-ifs and options. For those who want to dig further, and feel they owe it to their deceased love one, the usual next step is to engage a lawyer to help find a medical expert to review what happened. In almost every action for medical negligence, the opinion of experts is what matters most. A lawyer can find these experts for you – doctors who will give their professional opinion about what happened and compare it to the standards of the health care community. If the expert believes the care provided fell below the standard range of care, there may be a case to be made that medical negligence occurred. Mistakes of a serious nature – including errors that cause a patient’s death – are rare. But just as in all other aspects of life, mistakes do occur. If you have questions, or wonder whether the care of your loved one involved a serious error by a care provider that caused harm, contact us and learn more.

ABOUT BRAD SCHROEDER

Brad is a co-founder and partner in the law firm Hartung Schroeder. He believes in advocating for people in many areas of the law. He regularly represents clients in matters pertaining to family law, business law and personal injury. You can learn more about Brad or get in touch with him here.

We get calls regularly from people who have gotten themselves into a bind. Usually it’s through no particular fault of their own, and it’s simply a matter of circumstances. Sometimes, though, the clients who call us are doing so because they avoided picking up the phone at an earlier point in time, when trouble could have been avoided, or at least substantially reduced.

We get it – people are reluctant to contact a lawyer when they aren’t really sure they need one, whether it’s a perceived hassle, anticipated costs, or for other reasons. Recently we had a very high wage-earning party in a marriage go through a divorce without ever talking to a lawyer – even to review the final settlement agreement. The client called us a week after the ink was dry, immediately having regrets. At that point it certainly had become much more difficult, though not necessarily impossible, to undo things.

Similarly, we recently had a small business owner call, looking for advice on how to deal with a “silent partner” who hadn’t lived up to his end of the bargain in getting the business – which is starting to become profitable – off the ground. Unfortunately, the terms of their arrangement were never very well settled, and nothing was ever put in writing. They didn’t even really know what matters they needed to discuss when they started the business, because neither of them sat down with a lawyer to know what common issues might arise. Things of course would have been easier if they had taken a little time at the outset to plan for the unforeseeable.

At Hartung Schroeder, we can help. I often tell people, “When in doubt, give us a call.” If there is really no need to involve us, we will give you that advice. Better to be safe than sorry.

ABOUT BRAD SCHROEDER

Brad is a co-founder and partner in the law firm Hartung Schroeder. He believes in advocating for people in many areas of the law. He regularly represents clients in matters pertaining to family law, business law and personal injury. You can learn more about Brad or get in touch with him here.