Suing the TSA?
 

I'm considering filing a lawsuit against the TSA for a severe violation of their protocol which resulted in bodily harm and significant injury to myself.

I've never sued anyone or any organization before (let alone a government agency) and this is completely uncharted territory for me. Is there a precedent set? Is there a specialized counsel or practice I should reach out to?

I don't want to post the details of the experience in a public setting due to my (possible) pending litigation, but any advice or links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

IANAL, but the very first thing to do is get your lawyer to subpoena the video(s) of the incident. Before the TSA can 'lose' it.

I have a voicemail into the customer service manager at the airport letting them know that I am requesting they retain the videos and not to destroy them.

I'm not sure what their SOPs are for retaining video footage and how long I have to subpoena them.

SOP for the TSA appears to be "destroy the videos as soon as someone requests them, then lie about whether or not any video actually exists."

http://tsaoutofourpants.wordpress.co...-say-they-can/

You should have a chat with Jonathan Corbett, the author of that website.

I spoke to the CSM at the airport about 20 minutes ago. I asked her to summarize our conversation (asking them to retain the footage in question so I could subpoena it) in writing to me, which she acknowledged she would.

I'm giving her until COB today to provide me this documentation.

I really need to talk to a lawyer if anyone can recommend someone that has experience in personal injury and handling a case with the government. A few people on FT know me and know that I'm a very logical, level-headed individual. I'm not a fringe lunatic and what happened to me should be clearly documented on video and I have medical documentation supporting my claims.

My goal is that no one after me should ever have to face bodily harm or injury because they need to get on an airplane.

So you're basically looking for the dissolution of the TSA?

just some comments
 

attorney referrals are best done via PM

the OP is asking for some specific adivce re attorneys, procedures etc. so let's keep it to that

thx

squeakr

co Mod TS/S

What you want will determine how you go about this. If you want to change policy, going to your local branch of the ACLU may be the place to start. If you are looking for damages, a good personal injury lawyer would be the place to start.

If you're going for the latter. the Federal Torts Claim Act is the place to start. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Tort_Claims_Act

Suing the US federal government is not that hard from a procedural standpoint. The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's office is the counsel of record for the US Government.

Most personal injury lawyers will talk to you for free and there you can get an idea if your case has merit. to find a good personal injury attorney check your state and local bar associations and martendale hubble attorney ratings.

A precedent
 

Check out this thread in the "Debate" forum:
The Spokesman-Review: TSA paid Tim Rasmussen $225k for fall during airport screening

Good news: he was awarded $225,000 for his injury.
Not good news: he had sued them for $1 million.
Bad news: he's a prosecutor and it took over 4 years from the injury (April 2008) to the settlement. Not a lot of hope for the non-lawyers among us.

But I wish you good luck. If you're in WA, perhaps Mr Rasmussen can offer assistance.