Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Maryland

Re: Falling Tree on a car

You could potentially bring a claim against the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), but to prevail you would have to establish that the government was negligent in some manner in causing the tree to fall, and that the negligence was not in the performance of a discretionary governmental function. Earlier this year, in Merando v. United States, the 3rd Circuit Federal Court of Appeals held in a similar case (tree falling on a car in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area) that the discretionary function exception to the FTCA barred the claim because the Park Service has discretion in formulating and implementing its hazardous tree removal plan. A similar decision was reached by the 11th Circuit in 1993 in Autery v. United States. But in Husovsky v. United States, the D.C. Circuit did find liability. So there is a chance that you could prevail, although the newer cases appear to favor the government on this issue. If you want to pursue this, contact a lawyer familiar with the Federal Tort Claims Act quickly, as there are deadlines for filing required administrative claims before suit can be filed.