Hit by a city utility truck — does suing a government entity really take forever?

I went through something really similar with a county vehicle about three years ago. Unfavorable police report and everything. Honestly the government claim process is just… slow. Mine took close to two years from the initial filing to actually seeing any resolution. The thing that helped me most was having an attorney who had specifically done government tort claims before, not just general PI work. There's a whole separate administrative layer before you can even file a lawsuit.

The government-entity angle is a really important detail here. Most states require you to file a formal 'tort claim notice' with the specific agency — city, county, state, whatever — within a tight window, sometimes as short as 60 or 90 days from the accident date. Missing that deadline can bar your entire claim regardless of how strong your case is. Two months out is not too late, but you want to get that attorney consult done ASAP and ask specifically about the notice deadline in your state. That's the first question I'd raise in your meeting next week.

Don't assume the city is going to play fair just because it's a government entity. Their risk management office has adjusters whose job is still to minimize payouts. I've heard from people who got lowball offers with a short 'accept or reject' window hoping victims would just take it rather than deal with the hassle of litigation. Get your attorney locked in before you talk to anyone on their side.

Not legal advice, but a couple of things worth flagging: government claims often have sovereign immunity rules that limit what you can recover and how, on top of those strict notice deadlines the paralegal mentioned. The unfavorable police report isn't automatically fatal — reconstruction experts and medical records can tell a story the officer's narrative didn't capture. The dashcam cutting out is unfortunate but an attorney can potentially subpoena the truck's own onboard data or work zone cameras if any existed. Definitely bring all of this up at your consult.

From the inside, government claims are actually sometimes handled more methodically than private insurer claims — there's less creative negotiating and more rigid process. That can be good or bad. Good because there's less chance of some adjuster going completely rogue with a crazy lowball. Bad because the process is slow and bureaucratic and nobody has personal incentive to move fast. Expect to be patient. Also, that police report? Adjusters are trained to lean on it hard early in negotiations, but experienced PI attorneys know how to contextualize it. It's one piece of evidence, not the whole story.

Two things: get that attorney hired before your consult ends, not just 'consulted.' And ask your doctor to document every single symptom and limitation in writing at every single appointment from here on out. Government cases can drag, and detailed contemporaneous medical records are what hold a claim together when time passes and memories fade.

I'm really sorry you're dealing with this on top of recovering from an actual spinal injury. The dashcam thing especially would drive me crazy — just bad luck. I hope the consult next week goes well and you find someone who's done these kinds of cases before. Rooting for you.