If you’ve been injured in an accident because of the negligence of a government entity in Texas, you might be wondering if you can recover compensation in a personal injury claim.
The answer is, potentially, yes — you can.
However, suing the government comes with challenges and strict deadlines that differ from a traditional personal injury claim against a private company or individual.
Not knowing these unique rules or missing a deadline could stop you from getting the compensation you’re owed, leaving you to pay for your medical bills out of your pocket.
In this guide, we break down what you need to know about suing the state of Texas for an accident that wasn’t your fault.
On this page:
- Key Takeaways
- What Is a Government Entity?
- The Texas Tort Claims Act and Sovereign Immunity
- When Can You Sue a Government Entity in Texas under the Texas Tort Claims Act?
- How Long Do You Have to Sue the Government for Personal Injury?
- What Happens After You File Your Notice?
- Should You Accept a Settlement Offer?
- Understanding Damage Caps and Limitations When Suing a Government Entity in Texas
- Can You Sue Individual Government Employees?
Key Takeaways
- You can sue the government in several scenarios, including if you’ve been in a city bus accident, suffered a slip and fall in a government building, been injured at a public hospital, or sustained an injury in a car accident caused by poor road maintenance.
- You must file a formal written notice of your claim, typically within six months of your injury.
- Texas caps the damages you can recover in a personal injury claim against the government.
What Is a Government Entity?
Before exploring when it’s possible to sue the government, we first need to understand what a government entity is.
Section 2254.002 of the Texas Government Code defines a “governmental entity” as:
- A state agency or department;
- A district, authority, county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state;
- A local government corporation or another entity created by or acting on behalf of a political subdivision in the planning and design of a construction project; or
- A publicly owned utility.
Under this definition, examples of government entities include state departments, universities and institutes of higher education, counties and municipalities, school districts (and their subdivisions), and special-purpose districts or authorities.
There are over 150 state agencies and districts serving Texas, from the State Bar of Texas (SBOT) and Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to the Board of Nursing (BOD) and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
The Texas Tort Claims Act and Sovereign Immunity
A legal doctrine called sovereign immunity meant that, historically, it wasn’t possible to sue the government without its consent. Essentially, this protected the government from lawsuits.
However, Texas has since waived this immunity under the Texas Tort Claims Act (TTCA), which was incorporated into the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code. However, you can only sue in limited circumstances.
When Can You Sue a Government Entity in Texas Under the Texas Tort Claims Act?
Section 101.021 of the Civil Practice & Remedies Code establishes when the government is liable.
Under the TTCA, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against a government entity if your injury was caused by the wrongful act or negligence of an employee acting within the scope of employment and:
- Your injury resulted from an auto accident
- The employee would be personally liable under Texas law
- Your injury was caused by the condition or use of “tangible or real property” (e.g. tools and equipment) and the government agency or entity would be liable under Texas law were it a private person.
This statute covers several potential scenarios:
- An auto accident involved a governmental employee who was on duty at the time of the crash (e.g. if a city bus driver crashes into your vehicle)
- Dangerous conditions on government property, such as a broken stairwell in a public building, unsafe sidewalks, or missing or defective guardrails on public roads.
It’s important to emphasize that the sovereign immunity waiver set out in the TTCA does not apply to all governmental entities. Several entities are exempt from the Texas Tort Claims Act, meaning it’s not possible to sue them. These include independent school districts (ISDs) and can include other government agencies, so you should consult a personal injury attorney to determine if you can sue the government in your case.
What About Government Contractors?
Government agencies often contract work to businesses, such as construction companies that successfully bid on a building project for a government building.
Sovereign immunity does not extend to government contractors, which means you could have a claim. However, just like the Texas Tort Claims Act lays out specific scenarios when you can sue the government, certain conditions apply to claims against government contractors.
The “government contractor defense” shields contractors from liability for personal injury when the following criteria apply:
- The government approved the contractor’s specifications, designs, or procedures.
- The contractor complied with those specifications, designs, or procedures.
- The contractor warned the government of any risks associated with the specifications, designs, or procedures that were not known to the government.
The best way to illustrate how this defense can apply is with a hypothetical example.
| A Texas-based construction company — Lone Star Builders — is hired by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to install guardrails along a stretch of Interstate Highway 35 (I-35).
TxDOT engineers design and approve the project specifications, which, in this case, set the guardrail height at 25 inches. Lone Star Builders begins construction along I-35, but notices that the guardrail height approved in the specification is below the minimum height of 27¾ inches, let alone the recommended height of 31 inches. The contractor notifies TxDOT of their concerns in writing, specifically stating that building a guardrail at the specified height could pose a safety risk to motorists in an accident, and recommending that the guardrail height be adjusted to the nominal height of 31 inches. TxDOT reviews the recommendation but ultimately rejects the proposal, requiring the contractor to follow the original specification. Then, a few months after construction is complete, a driver swerves off the road and crashes into the guardrail. An investigation determines that the driver’s injuries would have been less severe if the guardrail had been taller, and the driver pursues compensation against Lone Star Builders. In this scenario, Lone Star Builders would be able to use the government contractor defense: TxDOT approved the specification setting the guardrail height below the recommended minimum. Lone Star Builders carried out the specification. Lone Star Builders warned TxDOT of the risk of installing a shorter guardrail, even recommending the height be raised. |
How Long Do You Have to Sue the Government for Personal Injury?
The Texas Tort Claims Act does not just lay out the circumstances in which you can sue the government for personal injury; it also sets a clear procedure and deadline.
In a personal injury claim against an individual or private company, you have two years from your accident to bring legal action. However, in claims against the state of Texas, you must notify the government about your injury within six months. This notice must be in writing and include the following information:
- The injuries you’ve suffered (e.g a broken arm or concussion)
- The losses you’ve incurred because of your injury (e.g. medical bills, lost wages, etc.)
- When, where, and how the accident occurred (including the street name or address, time of day, and what happened just before and during the accident. You should avoid opinions and stick to facts — e.g. “The bus was swerving on the McDermott Freeway opposite Midhorizon Drive.”)
- Who was injured in the accident (include names)
- Supporting documentation, such as medical reports, bills or estimates of damages, and photographs of physical damage.
If you miss the six-month deadline, you cannot sue the government, even if you are within the standard two-year statute of limitations.
You should always consult an attorney as soon as possible after your accident, especially if you think a government entity is responsible and wish to file a lawsuit.
Some cities and counties impose stricter deadlines, such as San Antonio. Here, you must submit a Notice of Claim form within 90 days.
What Happens After You File Your Notice?
After receiving your notice, the government has 60 days to investigate and respond. Each agency might have unique procedures. For example, in San Antonio, the City’s Office of Risk Management will assign a General Liability Claims Adjuster to investigate your claim. This person will call you within seven days of filing your claim.
As part of their evaluation, the adjuster will review any evidence attached to your notice, and they may collect additional evidence, such as surveillance footage and eyewitness testimony. They may also ask you for more information about your injuries and damages.
When an insurance adjuster asks to speak with you about your accident, you should be polite and cooperative, but you must also remember that the adjuster’s primary goal is to reduce or deny the government’s liability to avoid a payout. You do not have to speak to an adjuster and can ask a personal injury attorney to handle communications on your behalf.
Should You Accept a Settlement Offer?
Whether you sue the state of Texas or a private individual, there might come a point when the at-fault party offers to settle your claim. You might be tempted to accept an offer as soon as possible, but initial offers are likely to be much less than you’re entitled to.
Before accepting any offer, you should speak to an attorney to make sure your settlement fairly compensates you for your losses. Otherwise, you risk accepting an offer only to be unable to afford your bills.
What If Settlement Negotiations Fail?
Negotiations aren’t always successful. The government may deny liability or refuse to budge from an unfair offer, or you might have a strong case and your attorney may be confident you can secure more.
If negotiations fail, you can file legal action against the government — otherwise known as a lawsuit. The statute of limitations for filing suit is two years from your injury — but you must have already filed a notice of your claim within the appropriate deadline.
This means that if you miss the six-month deadline (or earlier, in some jurisdictions) for filing your notice of claim, you cannot file a lawsuit.
Understanding Damage Caps and Limitations When Suing a Government Entity in Texas
In most personal injury claims, Texas does not cap your compensatory damages (e.g. your medical bills, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering).
For example, if you file a lawsuit against a truck company whose employee was drunk-driving when they crashed into you, causing you to become permanently disabled, a jury might award you a multi-million-dollar settlement — and you’d be entitled to every penny.
But Texas limits compensation in cases involving government liability. These caps apply regardless of how severe your injuries are or how much they impact your life:
- $250,000 per person for non-economic damages (like pain and suffering)
- $100,000 per person for economic damages (such as medical bills), unless the legislature approves a higher amount
- $500,000 total per incident, no matter how many people were injured. This means that if four people were injured by the same government entity in a single event, those four people would have to split $500,000 four ways, entitling them to up to $125,000 each (economic and non-economic damages).
What If You’re Injured on Federal Property?
If your accident happens on federal property, different rules apply. These claims fall under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) rather than Texas law. The FTCA has unique requirements, although the standard two-year statute of limitations applies. Just like with state claims, you must follow specific procedures and submit detailed documentation about your injuries.
Can You Sue Individual Government Employees?
The Texas Tort Claims Act states that you can sue the government when “the employee would be personally liable under Texas law,” so you might wonder whether you can sue the government employee who caused your injury, such as a bus driver who ran a red light.
Generally, the TTCA requires you to target the government entity, protecting the employee from direct liability.
As with most laws, though, there is one exception. You can potentially sue a government employee if you can prove they were grossly negligent or acted with intentional malice.
For example, the TTCA limits claims against emergency responders, and sovereign immunity typically applies. This protects police officers and ambulance drivers when they respond in good faith to an emergency.
However, if an emergency responder acts “with unconscious indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others,” you may have a case against them. A hypothetical scenario where this might apply is if an ambulance driver sideswipes your vehicle to push you aside while responding to an emergency callout.
Getting Help with Your Government Entity Claim
The aftermath of any accident is stressful, but claims against the government add extra complexity. With stricter deadlines, unique procedures to follow, and caps on the compensation you can recover, it’s vital to speak to a personal injury lawyer to see where you stand and understand your options.
Our San Antonio and McAllen personal injury attorneys understand the unique challenges of government claims, and we can help you get the compensation you deserve.
If you’ve been injured due to a government entity’s negligence, don’t wait to get help. Call 855-LAW-NINJA or contact us online for a free case review. We’re available 24/7, and you don’t pay unless we win your case.
