Government Vehicle Crashes Can Leave Families With Hard Questions. We Help You Find Answers.

A wrongful death claim involving a government vehicle in Albuquerque is possible under New Mexico law. The main differences are a short written notice requirement, government immunity with specific exceptions, and limits on what can be recovered.

This page explains each difference in plain words. It is written for families dealing with a death in a crash involving a city, county, or state vehicle.

What a Wrongful Death Claim Against a Government Vehicle Is

A wrongful death claim is a lawsuit that can follow when another party’s wrongful act, neglect, or default causes a death, if that act would have entitled the injured person to maintain an action and recover damages had the death not occurred. The basic idea stays the same when the at-fault vehicle belongs to a government body. What changes is the legal route.

When a person’s death is caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another, and that act, neglect or default would have entitled the injured person to sue and recover damages had death not ensued, the person or corporation that would have been liable remains liable to an action for damages despite the death, even when the death was caused under circumstances that amount in law to a felony (Section 41-2-1). Government vehicles can be involved in fatal crashes in several ways:

• Police cruisers during patrol, pursuit, or emergency response
• City buses and refuse trucks
• County or state highway department vehicles
• Other fleet vehicles driven by public employees

Under NMSA § 41-2-1, whenever the death of a person is caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another, even if the death occurred under circumstances that amount in law to a felony, and the act, neglect or default would have entitled the injured party to maintain an action and recover damages had death not ensued, the person who, or the corporation which, would have been liable had death not ensued shall be liable to an action for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person injured. Any recovery then goes to the surviving family members set by statute.

Who Can Bring the Claim and What It Can Cover

The personal representative brings the claim, and New Mexico law sets who receives the money.

Under the statute’s distribution rules, when there is no father, mother, husband, wife, child or grandchild, the proceeds of a wrongful death judgment go to a surviving brother or sister, if there are any (Section 41-2-3). Under NMSA 1978, § 41-2-3, the proceeds of a judgment in such an action are not liable for the decedent’s debts only if the decedent left a spouse, child, father, mother, brother, sister, or child or children of a deceased child, as defined in the New Mexico Probate Code.

A jury may consider the pecuniary injury from the death to surviving family members. The jury in a wrongful death action may also take into account the mitigating or aggravating circumstances attending the wrongful act, neglect or default (Section 41-2-3).

Some close family members may also bring a loss of consortium claim. That claim requires a mutually dependent relationship with the person who died. The parties must have relied on each other and could not enjoy life the same way after the death (UJI 13-1810A NMRA). In deciding whether a relationship is mutually dependent, factors to consider may include the duration of the relationship and whether the claimant and the injured or deceased person were members of the same household (UJI 13-1810A NMRA).

How New Mexico’s Tort Claims Act Changes the Claim

The Tort Claims Act generally protects governmental entities and public employees from liability. The protection has exceptions. One exception covers negligent driving by public employees.

Immunity does not apply to bodily injury or wrongful death caused by a public employee’s negligence while operating a motor vehicle, aircraft or watercraft within the scope of duty (NMSA 1978, § 41-4-5). Whether a particular crash fits this exception depends on the facts.

The Act also limits what can be recovered:

• $400,000 to any person for damages other than medical expenses and real property damage, from one occurrence
• $300,000 for all past and future medical expenses, from one occurrence
• A combined $750,000 limit across the general damage and property categories, from one occurrence

A judgment against a governmental entity or public employee for a tort for which immunity has been waived under the Tort Claims Act may not include exemplary or punitive damages, or interest for the period before judgment (Section 41-4-19). Families should plan around these limits from the start.

The Act is the exclusive remedy against the government entity or public employee for the same occurrence. A lawsuit brought under the Tort Claims Act may not name as a party any insurance company that insures a risk for which the Act has waived immunity (Section 41-4-17).

Causation also matters. A proximate cause of an injury does not have to be the only cause, or the last or nearest cause (Herrera v. Quality Pontiac).

Deadlines: The Notice of Claim and the Filing Window

For most Tort Claims Act claims, written notice is due within 90 days after the occurrence. When a Tort Claims Act claim is for wrongful death, the required notice may be presented by or on behalf of the deceased person’s personal representative, any person claiming benefits of the proceeds of a wrongful death action, or the consular officer of a foreign country of which the deceased was a citizen, within six months after the date of the occurrence of the injury that resulted in the death (Section 41-4-16).

The notice must state the time, place, and circumstances of the loss. It goes to one of the offices the statute names, depending on the public body involved:

• State claims: the risk management division
• Municipal claims: the mayor
• County claims: the county clerk
• School districts: the superintendent of the school district; any other local public body: that body’s administrative head

Without notice, a suit generally cannot go forward. Unless the required notice has been given or the governmental entity had actual notice of the occurrence, a suit for which immunity has been waived under the Tort Claims Act cannot be maintained, and no court has jurisdiction to consider a suit against the state or any local public body (Section 41-4-16).

Filing deadlines come from different statutes. Actions against a governmental entity or a public employee for torts shall be forever barred unless such action is commenced within two years after the date of occurrence resulting in loss, injury or death, except that a minor under the full age of seven years shall have until his ninth birthday in which to file (NMSA § 41-4-15). Every action instituted under this section and the preceding section must be brought within three years after the cause of action accrues, and the cause of action accrues as of the date of death (NMSA § 41-2-2).

Until the facts are reviewed, plan around the shortest period.

What to Expect: The Claim Process Step by Step

A government vehicle claim usually moves through five stages. The order and timing vary with each case.

1. Review. We look at how the death happened, the family’s relationship to the person who died, and the identity of the vehicle and driver.
2. Evidence. Key records include the police or crash report, body camera and dash camera footage, traffic camera footage, vehicle event data, witness statements, photos, and medical examiner or coroner records. Requests for these records take time, so they work best when started early.
3. Notice. Written notice goes to the correct office within the statutory period.
4. Investigation and negotiation. The claim moves forward with the government entity or its risk office. Fleet maintenance, training, and dispatch records may be requested where relevant.
5. Suit. If the claim does not resolve, a lawsuit is filed within the deadlines. The case then moves through the court process.

Our team can explain the expected sequence for a specific crash during a consultation.

Why Families Work With El Gringo Law

El Gringo Law represents people in New Mexico in car accident, trucking, wrongful death, and catastrophic injury matters. The firm also handles premises liability, negligent security, and other practice areas listed on its site.

• Responsible lawyer: Josh Wood is the responsible lawyer for this page. He is licensed in New Mexico and Arizona.
• Team support: Our team handles intake and case work alongside the firm’s lawyers.
• Contact: Families can reach the firm through the contact page at elgringolaw.com/en/contact-us.

The firm’s focus is the practice areas it handles. This page does not predict how any claim will turn out.

Common Questions About Government Vehicle Wrongful Death Claims

Talk Through the Crash With Our Team

If you are reading this after losing someone in a crash with a government vehicle, you may be dealing with grief and a short notice clock at the same time. Our team offers a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue. You can reach us through the contact page or start a chat to talk through the crash date, the vehicle involved, and the timeline.