Can I Sue USPS?

Depending on your claim, you may be able to sue the United States Postal Service (USPS). If you seek to recover for personal injuries, you can take legal action against the U.S. Postal Service if you follow the proper procedures.

Suing the postal service isn't easy. You must navigate the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), and if not done correctly, your claim will be barred. If you're considering suing USPS, consult a local personal injury attorney knowledgeable about the FTCA first. A skilled attorney can guide you through the legal process and help you avoid mistakes that could cost you your case.

What is the USPS?

The United States Postal Service employs more people than any independent government agency. As of 2024, the USPS reported having 533,724 employees.

It's also one of the busiest federal agencies. The USPS:

• Delivers to almost 167 million addresses in the U.S.
• Leases or owns 31,373 properties across the country
• Operates a fleet of 246,503 postal vehicles
• Processes and delivers 44% of the world's mail
• Reported $78.2 billion in operating revenue for 2023
• Reported a total mail volume of 116.2 billion for 2023

It's the only organization with the resources, network, infrastructure, and logistical capability to serve every residential and business address in the country.

Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDVs)

In February 2021, the USPS announced it had awarded Oshkosh Defense an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quality contract to produce between 50,000 and 165,000 new vehicles over 10 years. The contract included zero-emission battery electric vehicles (EVs) and fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, with the bulk of the delivery trucks being fossil-fuel-powered.

The Oshkosh Defense contract gave rise to much resistance. Various environmental justice organizations and environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, objected, contending that fossil-fuel-powered vehicles should be phased out entirely.

In February 2022, the Council on Environmental Quality chair issued a statement that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had identified major concerns with its environmental review of the contract.

On April 28, 2022, California and 15 other states, the City of New York, the District of Columbia, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the USPS and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The lawsuit was for failing to follow the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

NEPA requires agencies to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). While the USPS issued its EIS in February 2022, the plaintiffs alleged that the EIS failed to adequately consider climate change's impact or state and local laws limiting greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption.

USPS Fleet Accidents

Considering the size and scope of USPS operations, there are bound to be issues. With so many postal delivery vehicles on the streets, accidents are inevitable. USPS reported more than 26,000 motor vehicle accidents involving postal service employees in 2020.

Consider this example: While crossing the street, you are struck by a USPS driver driving a mail truck. You spend months in rehab learning to walk again. You lose time at work and are unable to pay your medical bills. You decide to meet with a personal injury attorney in your area to see if you should sue the USPS. Your attorney tells you it may be a long process, but that you likely have a valid claim.

Sovereign Immunity

The first thing your lawyer talks about is something called sovereign immunity. In the old days, it was up to a king to decide whether he could get sued and, if so, in what manner. When our nation declared its independence, we inherited this legal doctrine. Today, sovereign immunity means you can't sue the government unless it says you can in a statute (law).

But it's not just about whether you can sue the government. Under sovereign immunity, the government can decide how to use it. For example, a law that says you can sue the government can still restrict lawsuits to a particular court or a particular type of claim or even impose limits on the amount you can recover. So, before you rush off to court, make sure your complaint is one that a court has the power to hear.

The Federal Tort Claims Act

Congress waived sovereign immunity in the Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946 (FTCA). The FTCA allows you to recover from the federal government for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage caused by the negligence of a federal employee acting within the scope of their employment.

Negligence

Negligence is a civil claim you can bring if you get injured because someone fails to use reasonable care. To establish a negligence claim, you need to prove the following elements:

• Duty: a legal obligation recognized by the law to use reasonable care toward another
• Breach of duty: the failure to use reasonable care toward another
• Causation: a legally recognized connection between the failure to use reasonable care and injuries sustained by another (lawyers split this into two and call them proximate cause and cause-in-fact)
• Damages: legally recognized and provable losses resulting from the failure to use reasonable care

Your lawyer asks you about the car accident. They want to know where you were, what you were doing, what the mail truck was doing, what speed it was going, whether they had a green light — all the details you can remember. You happened to be in the crosswalk, and the mail truck ran a red light. Your lawyer seems satisfied that you could make out the elements of a negligence claim.

Then, your attorney asks you about your damages. They want to know about your injuries, the time you spent in rehab, your pain and suffering, the time you lost from work, your salary, and your medical bills. They tell you chances are good that you can get compensated for the losses you sustained due to the driver's negligence.

Scope of Employment

Your lawyer then turns to whether the postal carrier was operating the mail truck within the scope of their employment. Under the FTCA, a government agency is only responsible for its employees' negligence if they acted within the scope of their employment at the time of an accident. This means they were doing their job on behalf of their employer.

Say the accident happened in the middle of the day when the postal carrier was on their way back to the post office after mail delivery. Your lawyer seems satisfied that you can show that the postal carrier was acting within the scope of their employment when they hit you.

FTCA Procedures

You feel relieved at the prospect of recovering the losses you sustained and ask about the next steps. Your lawyer tells you that you can't file a lawsuit just yet. The FTCA requires you to follow specific procedures. If you don't follow these procedures,  your claim could be barred.

File a Claim With the Agency

Your first step is to file a claim with USPS. You typically use a specific form, Standard Form 95. But as long as your claim contains the required information, you don't have to use that specific form. You must submit your claim within two years from when the claim accrues, typically two years from the date of the accident. If you don't, your claim will get barred.

 SF 95 will ask you to provide the following:

• Basic information about yourself (such as your date of birth and your contact information)
• The basis of your claim (the facts about where the accident happened, who was involved, and the cause and nature of the accident)
• A description of your injuries (the USPS will want itemized bills)
• The names and addresses of any witnesses
• The amount of your claim (under the FTCA, you have to request a specific dollar amount)
• Information about any insurance coverage you may have

You can fill this claim out on your own, but an attorney can also review it for you to ensure accuracy. An attorney can also help you compile documentation to support your claims, such as wage statements and medical bills.

Agency Action

Your lawyer tells you that once you submit your claim, the USPS will decide whether to pay it. They could seek more information, investigate, and negotiate with your lawyer about the amount. If you agree on an amount, USPS will pay your claim. If they pay your claim, you can't then sue the USPS.

If the USPS denies your claim, it will let you know in writing. If you are unsatisfied with the denial, you have six months from the date the USPS mailed the denial to file a lawsuit in federal court. If you don't file your lawsuit within those six months, your claim will be barred.

How an Attorney Can Help 

You must submit several proofs to support your claim. This includes proof of lost wages due to your injuries, where you received treatment for your injuries, and where you did your rehab. Depending on the specifics of your situation, you may also have to submit other documentation. If you sign releases allowing them to gather your records, an attorney can help collect this information.

You Can't Sue for Lost Mail

The FTCA has a specific exception for "any claim arising out of the loss, miscarriage, or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter." In other words, the government retains sovereign immunity for claims relating to lost mail. So, while you might be able to sue FedEx or UPS for losing a package, you can't sue the USPS.

The best course of action for missing mail or parcels is to file a missing mail claim with the USPS. You can also pay for insurance going forward.

Speak With a Lawyer Before You Sue USPS

Filing a lawsuit against the USPS is a complicated process. You must follow the proper steps and file your claim in time, or you can't sue USPS.

You can try to do this on your own. But, you may have a more successful outcome with the help of an experienced accident attorney. A lawyer can give you legal advice about your claim within an attorney-client relationship, answer related questions, and help you decide whether a lawsuit is in your best interests.