Suing Police for Negligence

Suing Police for Negligence: When Officers Fail Their Duty of Care

Most people think of police misconduct lawsuits in terms of excessive force or wrongful arrest. But a significant category of police liability involves something more subtle and more common: negligence. When police officers fail to act reasonably — whether by botching a pursuit, failing to provide medical care, mishandling a mental health crisis, or making preventable mistakes — the results can be catastrophic. Here is what you need to know about suing law enforcement for negligence.

What Is Police Negligence?

Police negligence occurs when a law enforcement officer or department fails to exercise the level of care that a reasonable officer would exercise under similar circumstances, and that failure causes injury or death.

Unlike excessive force claims — which involve an officer doing something actively harmful — negligence claims often arise from what an officer failed to do, or from a mistake made in the course of carrying out their duties.

Common examples include:

• Failure to provide medical care — officers who ignore or delay medical attention for someone in custody, injured during an arrest, or experiencing a medical emergency
• Botched police pursuits — high-speed chases that end in crashes injuring or killing innocent bystanders
• Negligent discharge of a firearm — accidentally shooting someone, or shooting the wrong person
• Mental health crisis mismanagement — using force against someone experiencing a psychiatric episode when de-escalation was possible
• Failure to protect — in limited circumstances, failing to act when a known threat of harm exists
• Negligent investigation — making preventable errors that lead to wrongful arrest or conviction
• Failure to secure detainees — allowing someone in custody to be harmed by other detainees or to harm themselves

The Duty of Care Problem: Why These Cases Are Hard

One of the biggest challenges in police negligence cases is establishing that the officer owed you a legal duty of care. Courts have generally held that police do not owe a specific duty to individual members of the public — only a general duty to the public at large. This "public duty doctrine" means that even if police failed to protect you from a crime, you generally cannot sue them for that failure.

However, there are important exceptions:

• Special relationship: If police created a specific relationship with you — for example, by taking you into custody, responding to a call about you specifically, or making assurances that they would protect you — a duty may arise.
• Affirmative actions that increased risk: If police took an action that made your situation more dangerous than it would have been otherwise, they may be liable for the resulting harm.
• Custodial settings: Once someone is taken into custody, police generally have a duty to provide adequate medical care and protection.

State laws vary significantly on when and how the public duty doctrine applies. An attorney familiar with your state's specific rules is essential.

Police Car Chases: A Major Source of Negligence Claims

Botched police pursuits are the second most costly category of police misconduct in some major cities. In Chicago alone, four lawsuits stemming from negligent police chases cost taxpayers more than $40.6 million in 2026.

When a high-speed chase ends in a crash that injures or kills an innocent bystander, the legal question is whether the officers exercised reasonable care in initiating and continuing the pursuit, given the risk to the public. Courts consider:

• Whether the original offense warranted a high-speed chase
• Whether conditions (traffic, weather, time of day) made the chase unreasonably dangerous
• Whether the officers followed department policy on pursuits
• Whether proper warnings and backup were deployed

Families and individuals injured by police pursuits have successfully recovered substantial compensation through civil negligence claims.

Failure to Provide Medical Care

Under the Fourteenth Amendment (for pretrial detainees) and Eighth Amendment (for convicted prisoners), individuals in custody have a constitutional right to medical care. Officers who ignore, delay, or deny adequate medical attention can be held liable.

A notable recent example: in a 2025 federal case in New York, a jury found the City of New York liable for both assault and negligent failure to provide medical care after a protester was injured during an arrest and an NYPD officer failed to get her medical help. She was later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. The city paid more than $2 million to settle.

Failure-to-provide-medical-care cases arise in a range of situations, including:

• Someone injured during an arrest who is left without treatment
• A detainee showing signs of a stroke, heart attack, or overdose who is ignored
• A person in a mental health crisis who is physically restrained rather than given care
• Someone who dies in custody from a preventable medical condition

Negligence in the Investigative Context: Wrongful Arrest and Conviction

Police negligence can also result in wrongful arrest or even wrongful conviction — when officers make preventable mistakes in their investigations, jump to conclusions, or fail to pursue exculpatory evidence. These cases can produce some of the largest settlements in police misconduct litigation.

Wrongful conviction cases in 2025 accounted for approximately $42 million of New York City's total payout, while similar cases continue to drive record settlement costs in Chicago. Wrongful conviction claims typically involve:

• Misidentification and flawed eyewitness evidence
• Reliance on testimony from unreliable informants
• Suppression of exculpatory evidence
• Fabrication or planting of evidence
• Coercive interrogation tactics

Government Immunity and Negligence Claims: The Tort Claims Act Barrier

Suing a government entity for negligence involves an additional obstacle: sovereign immunity. Historically, the government could not be sued without its consent. Today, federal and state governments have enacted tort claims acts that waive immunity in limited circumstances, but these statutes impose strict requirements:

• Notice requirements: Many state tort claims acts require you to file a formal Notice of Claim within a very short period — sometimes 60 or 90 days — from the date of injury
• Caps on damages: Some states cap the amount you can recover from a government entity, regardless of the severity of your injury
• Limitations on types of claims: Government immunity may still apply to certain categories of discretionary decisions

Missing these procedural requirements is fatal to your claim. Even if the negligence is clear and your injuries are severe, a late Notice of Claim can permanently bar you from recovery.

How to Protect Your Rights After a Negligence Incident

1. Seek immediate medical attention — get formally evaluated and create a medical record
2. Document everything — write down the full sequence of events while memory is fresh; photograph injuries and the scene
3. Preserve evidence — request body cam, dash cam, and security camera footage immediately; retention windows are short
4. Identify witnesses — get contact information for anyone who saw what happened
5. Do not sign any releases or make statements to government representatives without legal counsel
6. Consult a civil rights or personal injury attorney immediately — the notice deadlines in negligence cases against governments are among the tightest in the law

Bottom Line

Police negligence is a real and significant source of harm — from botched car chases to untreated injuries in custody to preventable wrongful convictions. While these cases are legally complex and involve substantial procedural hurdles, they are winnable. Cities pay tens of millions of dollars annually to resolve them.

If you or a family member has been harmed by a failure of law enforcement — not just an intentional act — you may have a valid legal claim. The key is acting fast and getting the right legal help.