Hit by a City Vehicle That Didn't Stop in Alabama: The Six-Month Claim Rule

Attorney Answer

A claim against an Alabama city runs on its own clock, and it is much shorter than the usual two years. A claim for damages from a wrong like this must be presented to the city within six months, and a personal-injury claim also needs a sworn statement filed with the city clerk. Those two steps come first. The fact that the driver left does not change who is responsible for a city vehicle.

The six-month rule. Ala. Code § 11-47-23:

All claims against the municipality (except bonds and interest coupons and claims for damages) shall be presented to the clerk for payment within two years from the accrual of said claim or shall be barred. Claims for damages growing out of torts shall be presented within six months from the accrual thereof or shall be barred.

The second sentence is the one that applies to you: a claim for damages from a collision is a claim growing out of a tort.

The sworn statement. Ala. Code § 11-47-192:

No recovery shall be had against any city or town on a claim for personal injury received, unless a sworn statement be filed with the clerk by the party injured or his personal representative in case of his death stating substantially the manner in which the injury was received, the day and time and the place where the accident occurred and the damages claimed.

Both are formal documents with consequences if they are wrong or late. They are worth having a lawyer prepare, but not worth waiting on.

When the city is responsible. Ala. Code § 11-47-190 makes a city liable where the injury came through the neglect, carelessness or unskillfulness of an agent or employee of the city “engaged in work therefor and while acting in the line of his or her duty”. A city vehicle being driven on city business is the ordinary case. The same section limits what can be recovered:

However, no recovery may be had under any judgment or combination of judgments, whether direct or by way of indemnity under Section 11-47-24, or otherwise, arising out of a single occurrence, against a municipality, and/or any officer or officers, or employee or employees, or agents thereof, in excess of a total $100,000 per injured person up to a maximum of $300,000 per single occurrence, the limits set out in the provisions of Section 11-93-2 notwithstanding.

The driver leaving. Alabama requires the driver of any vehicle in an accident causing injury or vehicle damage to stop and give information, under Ala. Code § 32-10-1. A city employee who did not stop answers for that separately. It does not stand between you and a claim against the city. It may make identifying the vehicle the first job: the markings, the unit number, the time and the place.

Alabama's harshest rule still applies. Alabama is a contributory negligence state: a claimant whose own negligence helped cause the injury recovers nothing at all, not a reduced share. Two limits travel with it. It is a defense the other side must plead and prove, and simple heedlessness is not enough to establish it as a matter of law. And it is no defense at all to wanton conduct.

What you can do

1. Report the hit-and-run to the police if you have not, and get the report number.

2. Write down everything you can recall about the vehicle: markings, color, unit or license number, direction, time and place.

3. Photograph the damage and any injuries, and keep repair estimates and medical records.

4. Mark the date six months from the collision, and speak to an Alabama lawyer well before it about the claim and the sworn statement.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Alabama attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim against the city must be presented within six months under Ala. Code § 11-47-23. A lawsuit must be brought within two years under Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l): “All actions for any injury to the person or rights of another not arising from contract and not specifically enumerated in this section must be brought within two years.” The six months comes first, and missing it can end the claim against the city.