Injured in street crime, can I sue the DC govt for complete public safety failure?

[Anonymous]

Sue the guy who punched you. That’s your recourse.

[Anonymous]

LOL, seriously? No, what a stupid question.

So anytime anything unfortunate happens to anyone, it's automatically the government's fault? You think nobody has ever been punched by a rando in Arlington? Bethesda? Beverly Hills?

Asking the government to be responsible for preventing 100% of bad things is completely unrealistic bordering on delusional. Because if you can sue for your one single incident that establishes the precedent that the government is liable for literally everything bad that happens in their borders.

My god, how can people this self-absorbed and stupid even function in modern society?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry it happened to you. You do have victim's rights:
https://www.victimlaw.org/victimlaw/pages/victimsRight.jsp

Here is an article about when a citizen can sue a government -- it's pretty rare.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/personal-injury/can-you-sue-government/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL, seriously? No, what a stupid question.

So anytime anything unfortunate happens to anyone, it's automatically the government's fault? You think nobody has ever been punched by a rando in Arlington? Bethesda? Beverly Hills?

Asking the government to be responsible for preventing 100% of bad things is completely unrealistic bordering on delusional. Because if you can sue for your one single incident that establishes the precedent that the government is liable for literally everything bad that happens in their borders.

My god, how can people this self-absorbed and stupid even function in modern society?

There certainly is a more calm and respectful way to have this discussion with OP and provide resources about the basic facts of citizenship and the functions of our government that OP clearly seems not to know (many people don't).

[Anonymous]

There is a crime victim's fund in DC:
https://ovsjg.dc.gov/page/crime-victim-compensation

https://www.dccourts.gov/services/crime-victims-compensation-matters


It's been awhile since I used it but the total you could receive was several thousand dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL, seriously? No, what a stupid question.

So anytime anything unfortunate happens to anyone, it's automatically the government's fault? You think nobody has ever been punched by a rando in Arlington? Bethesda? Beverly Hills?

Asking the government to be responsible for preventing 100% of bad things is completely unrealistic bordering on delusional. Because if you can sue for your one single incident that establishes the precedent that the government is liable for literally everything bad that happens in their borders.

My god, how can people this self-absorbed and stupid even function in modern society?

There certainly is a more calm and respectful way to have this discussion with OP and provide resources about the basic facts of citizenship and the functions of our government that OP clearly seems not to know (many people don't).

Calm and respectful would have been warranted if this hadn't been an obvious bad faith troll. Blaming it all on "the liberal government?" Please. I'm not convinced this even happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, this is what people in DC vote for. Until the mayor, city council, USAO, and the appointed liberal judges are replaced, victims of crime in DC have no recourse. Elections have consequences. And people in DC prefer leaders like Charles Allen, Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis, and other pro-violent crime politicians. Nothing will change until people in DC vote differently, which is unlikely to happen.

The judges are appointed by the president.
Crime peaked last year. It is coming down, but still has a ways to go.
The politicians are not "pro violence" but there has not been a winning strategy short of what they do in Singapore.

Crime is NOT coming down. Most of the movement you are seeing is because many offenses have been decriminalized or the are not enforced at all. Retail theft, public marijuana use, etc. no longer appear in the crime statistics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go sign the recall petitions. I heard they're facing headwinds but recalls would put the politicians at attention.

Headwinds. LOL. The Hindenburg faced headwinds too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't you defend yourself without running to the nanny state for protection? Why do you choose to live in DC?

How will OP provide personal defense? If someone punches you, will you whip out a gun out of your purse and shoot them in the knee caps as they are running away? Guns are illegal in DC. What else honestly would work for those who aren't afraid of our justice system or those mentally unhinged other than fear of getting shot?

Good points, not to mention OP would have preferred to not have been punched in the face and suffered injury in the first place. Op is holding DC accountable for the general lawlessness. I say look into it. We also need a class action suit for being forced to inhale mj every time we step outside. No, the referendum did not support/allow for public space smoking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, this is what people in DC vote for. Until the mayor, city council, USAO, and the appointed liberal judges are replaced, victims of crime in DC have no recourse. Elections have consequences. And people in DC prefer leaders like Charles Allen, Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis, and other pro-violent crime politicians. Nothing will change until people in DC vote differently, which is unlikely to happen.

The judges are appointed by the president.
Crime peaked last year. It is coming down, but still has a ways to go.
The politicians are not "pro violence" but there has not been a winning strategy short of what they do in Singapore.

Crime is NOT coming down. Most of the movement you are seeing is because many offenses have been decriminalized or the are not enforced at all. Retail theft, public marijuana use, etc. no longer appear in the crime statistics.

You can go the multiple MPD and other DC.gov pages (Crime Data At A Glance, Crime Cards, etc.) and confirm the 35 percent decrease in violent crime citywide or by Ward and PSA, by offense. Homicides. Carjackings. Robberies. Assaults. Each of which is down significantly, topped by carjackings at 51 percent.

Retail thefts are most certainly reported. You can sign up for MPD District listservs. Why lie? DC has some of the most transparent systems of data sources in the nation.

And no “many offenses” have not been decriminalized. Sorry to break it to you but even the Feds are in the process of rescheduling weed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Title.

DC crime has gotten out of control because the liberal govt refuses to enforce the law and prosecute criminals. I was just punched in the face and had an orbital fracture by a random perp who wanted my phone. My medical bills due to the ordeal are through the roof. Can I sue the DC govt because they've failed at their basic job of ensuring public safety, and as a result, I received nasty injuries that have caused significant bodily and financial harm? Maybe if more individuals sued the govt for failing their basic job then they'd get tougher on crime. We pay them all their taxes, so if they're not ensuring public safety, where's it all going?

You can sue. It’s the right of every person to engage in futile acts. Your suit will be quickly dismissed along with those of every other crank and tinfoil hat wearer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Title.

DC crime has gotten out of control because the liberal govt refuses to enforce the law and prosecute criminals. I was just punched in the face and had an orbital fracture by a random perp who wanted my phone. My medical bills due to the ordeal are through the roof. Can I sue the DC govt because they've failed at their basic job of ensuring public safety, and as a result, I received nasty injuries that have caused significant bodily and financial harm? Maybe if more individuals sued the govt for failing their basic job then they'd get tougher on crime. We pay them all their taxes, so if they're not ensuring public safety, where's it all going?

No offense, but you sound really whiny. I don’t think you’re cut out for living in a city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title.

DC crime has gotten out of control because the liberal govt refuses to enforce the law and prosecute criminals. I was just punched in the face and had an orbital fracture by a random perp who wanted my phone. My medical bills due to the ordeal are through the roof. Can I sue the DC govt because they've failed at their basic job of ensuring public safety, and as a result, I received nasty injuries that have caused significant bodily and financial harm? Maybe if more individuals sued the govt for failing their basic job then they'd get tougher on crime. We pay them all their taxes, so if they're not ensuring public safety, where's it all going?

No offense, but you sound really whiny. I don’t think you’re cut out for living in a city.

Not the original poster. You are ridiculous and exemplify the mindset of the people running DC. This is exactly why the city has turned into a haven for lawlessness and dysfunction.
This person is complaining because someone attacked and fractured their skull. They are not being whiny and are justifiably angry that the city is failing to protect people from violent criminals. DC cares more about violent criminals and murderers than the honest hardworking residents that keep the city functioning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't you defend yourself without running to the nanny state for protection? Why do you choose to live in DC?

How will OP provide personal defense? If someone punches you, will you whip out a gun out of your purse and shoot them in the knee caps as they are running away? Guns are illegal in DC. What else honestly would work for those who aren't afraid of our justice system or those mentally unhinged other than fear of getting shot?

Guns are not illegal in DC anymore.

Honestly, with the first line of OPs first message, I thought I could see why you got punched in the face. You live in a city. How did they know you had a phone. I see so many people walking down the street looking at their phone and not paying attention. My first thought is - they are going to get robbed.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, no you probably cannot sue then because of sovereign immunity and lack of standing to sue DC. You can sue the guy who punched you, but this unlikely to be worth your time because someone who randomly punches strangers on the street almost certainly does not have assets or income to pay a lawsuit judgement.