B. (§21.29) General Rule
Before filing a lawsuit under the FTCA (Federal Tort Claims Act), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671 et seq., the plaintiff must first exhaust all administrative procedures. 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a). This is accomplished by mailing Standard Form 95 by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the appropriate federal agency within two years after the tortious act or omission occurred. 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b). When filing Standard Form 95, the claimant must include a "sum certain" with the claim. Once the appropriate federal agency has made a final disposition of the claim, the claimant may not file suit in federal district court demanding a:
[S]um in excess of the amount of the claim presented to the federal agency, except where the increased amount is based upon newly discovered evidence not reasonably discoverable at the time of presenting the claim to the federal agency, or upon allegation and proof of intervening facts, relating to the amount of the claim.
28 U.S.C. § 2675(b). A determination of what is reasonably discoverable is based on an objective, rather...
