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Usually, the first step is not a court lawsuit. For many wrongful-death claims based on negligence by a federal employee acting within the scope of employment, the family or authorized representative must first submit a claim to the appropriate federal agency under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The agency can investigate and resolve the claim, deny it, or leave it without a final decision. A federal court case generally becomes available after a written final denial—or, at the claimant’s option, after the agency has not made a final disposition for six months.
What happens in a particular case depends on the facts, the responsible agency, and the law where the death occurred. The FTCA does not guarantee that a claim will be accepted, settled, or successful.
First, check whether the FTCA is the right route
The FTCA is a limited waiver of the federal government’s immunity from certain money-damages claims. It can apply when a federal employee’s negligent or wrongful act or omission caused a death while the employee was acting within the scope of federal employment, and a private person would be liable under the law of the place where the conduct occurred. The relevant framework is in 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1).
That does not make every death connected to federal activity an FTCA case. The route may differ if the person involved was a contractor rather than a federal employee, was outside the scope of employment, or a different federal statute or an FTCA exception applies. The facts and incident location matter.
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Before court, present an administrative claim to the agency
In general, a claimant must first present the claim to the federal agency whose activities gave rise to it. Under 28 C.F.R. § 14.2, presentation generally requires the agency to receive written notice of the incident, a demand for a specific sum of money (a “sum certain”), and evidence of the signer’s authority when someone files for another person or an estate.
The Department of Justice says Standard Form 95 (SF 95) is a convenient format, but it is not required. A written claim still needs to state a specific sum certain; a demand without one does not satisfy DOJ’s presentation guidance. The correct agency depends on the circumstances, so families should not assume that DOJ is the right recipient in every case.
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The general statutory deadline is to present the claim within two years after it accrues under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b). When a claim accrues, and how the deadline applies to specific facts, can require case-specific legal analysis.
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The agency reviews the claim and may resolve it
Once the claim is received, the agency has an opportunity to investigate and make a final disposition. It may allow or compromise the claim, settle it, or deny it. These are possible outcomes, not a prediction about any family’s case; the cited rules do not establish a typical payout or average processing time.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a), a claimant generally cannot start an FTCA lawsuit until the agency has issued a written final denial and sent notice by certified or registered mail. If the agency has made no final disposition within six months after the claim is filed, the claimant may elect to treat the claim as finally denied for this purpose and proceed to court. That is an option, not an automatic finding that the claim has been rejected.
Keep the two different six-month periods separate
The FTCA has one six-month period tied to agency inaction and another tied to a written denial. They start at different points and serve different purposes.
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| Period | What starts it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Six months for agency disposition | The agency’s receipt of the administrative claim | If the agency has not made a final disposition after six months, the claimant may elect to treat the claim as denied and proceed to court under § 2675(a). |
| Six months to begin suit after denial | The agency’s mailing of its written final-denial notice | Section 2401(b) generally requires the court action to begin within six months after the denial notice is mailed. |
These deadlines are not interchangeable. Missing a statutory period can bar a claim. The claim’s accrual date and the application of any exception or other legal doctrine depend on the particular circumstances and controlling law.
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After a written final denial, or after electing to proceed following six months without a final agency disposition, the claimant can bring an FTCA action in federal court, subject to the applicable deadlines. The case then must be litigated; filing suit does not itself establish liability or guarantee compensation. The reviewed statutory sources do not support a typical timeline or outcome rate for wrongful-death FTCA cases.
For claims within the FTCA, the United States is generally the defendant. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2679(b), the FTCA remedy against the United States is generally exclusive of a money-damages action against the federal employee for the same subject matter when the employee acted within the scope of employment. The statute identifies exceptions, including certain constitutional claims and claims authorized against individuals by other federal statutes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Liability and wrongful-death damages depend on local law
The FTCA generally measures the United States’ liability by comparing it with that of a private person under like circumstances and applying the law of the place where the act or omission occurred. The federal provisions do not create one nationwide list of wrongful-death beneficiaries or one damages formula. Who may recover, which losses may count, and how they are measured depend on the relevant local law and the facts.
The FTCA generally bars punitive damages and interest before judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 2674. Those limits are distinct from questions about which compensatory damages local law permits.
What a family needs to establish for its next step
- Which agency is responsible: identify the federal agency whose activities gave rise to the claim.
- Whether the claim was properly presented: confirm the agency received written incident notice, a sum certain, and any required evidence of representative authority.
- Which deadline applies now: track the two-year claim-presentation period, any six-month agency-inactivity period, and the separate six-month period after a written denial.
- Which law governs liability and damages: determine the place-of-conduct law and how it addresses wrongful death.
- Whether another route or exception is involved: check whether the alleged actor’s status, scope of employment, or another federal law changes the analysis.
Because the proper agency, accrual date, eligible claimants, damages, and potential defenses cannot be determined from the fact that a death occurred, families facing these deadlines may want advice from an attorney experienced in FTCA claims and wrongful-death law.
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