Yes, but only in limited situations. Texas law generally shields cities, counties, and state agencies from lawsuits. However, the Texas Tort Claims Act waives that protection for specific claims, such as crashes caused by government drivers and injuries caused by dangerous public property. Strict notice deadlines apply, and in Houston you may have as little as 90 days to act. A Houston personal injury attorney can preserve your claim before those deadlines pass and fight for the full compensation the law allows.
What the Texas Tort Claims Act Allows
Cities, counties, school districts, and state agencies in Texas normally cannot be sued for injuries. That protection is called sovereign immunity, and it holds unless the state agrees to give it up. The Texas Tort Claims Act is the state law that waives governmental immunity in limited situations and permits injured Texans to seek money damages from a governmental unit.
The waiver covers three main categories of claims, and knowing where your situation fits is the first step in evaluating your case.
- Motor vehicle accidents. The government can be held liable when a negligent employee, acting within the scope of employment, causes property damage, injury, or death through the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment, if the employee would be personally liable under Texas law.
- Condition or use of tangible property. The government can be held liable for personal injury or death caused by a condition or use of tangible personal or real property, if a private person would be liable in the same circumstances.
- Premises defects. Dangerous conditions on government property can support a claim, although the duty owed is usually only the limited duty a private landowner owes a licensee. Special defects, such as excavations or obstructions on a roadway, trigger a stronger duty to warn.
If your injury does not fit one of these categories, the government likely keeps its immunity. Claims arising out of intentional torts such as assault are excluded, and so are claims based on discretionary decisions and, in most circumstances, an employee’s response to an emergency call.
Deadlines That Can End Your Claim Before It Starts
Suing the government comes with deadlines far shorter than an ordinary injury case. Texas law entitles a governmental unit to notice of your claim no later than six months after the day of the incident. The notice must reasonably describe the injury, the time and place of the incident, and what happened.
State law also lets cities shorten that window through their charters, and Houston has done exactly that. Houston’s charter requires a verified written notice to the mayor and city council within 90 days of the injury. The notice requires far more detail than state law demands, including how the injury occurred and the witnesses you rely on. The city publishes official instructions for filing a claim through the City Secretary’s office. If you miss the deadline, the city is exempt from liability unless it already had actual notice of your injury.
Proper notice is only the beginning. You must still file any lawsuit within the two-year statute of limitations that governs Texas personal injury claims. The suit must be filed in state court in a county where the cause of action arose, at least in part. Between the 90-day city notice, the six-month statutory notice, and the two-year filing deadline, the calendar is your biggest early enemy.
How Much Compensation Can You Recover?
Even a successful claim usually runs into caps that private-defendant cases do not have. For claims brought under the Tort Claims Act, the law limits what a governmental unit pays, no matter how catastrophic the harm.
- The State of Texas and municipalities such as Houston: Up to $250,000 per injured person and $500,000 per single occurrence for bodily injury or death.
- Most other units of local government, including counties: Up to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for bodily injury or death.
- Property damage: Up to $100,000 per single occurrence for any governmental unit.
The Act also does not authorize punitive damages. Because the ceiling is fixed, building a fully documented claim for medical costs, lost income, and pain and suffering matters even more than it does in an ordinary injury case.
Common Situations That Lead to Government Injury Claims
In and around Houston, claims against governmental units tend to arise from a handful of recurring scenarios.
- Crashes with government vehicles, including police cruisers, garbage trucks, and road maintenance equipment
- Public transit accidents involving buses and trains operated by government entities
- Dangerous road conditions, such as unmarked excavations or obstructions left in a roadway
- Traffic signals or warning devices that malfunctioned and were not fixed within a reasonable time after the responsible government learned of the problem
- Hazardous conditions on public property, including parks, sidewalks, and government buildings
A caution for claims against cities. Liability rules differ depending on whether the injury arose from a governmental function, such as street maintenance or traffic regulation, or a proprietary function, such as operating a public utility. School districts are a special case as well, because they can generally be sued only for motor vehicle claims. An early legal review can tell you which rules govern your situation.
Mistakes That Can Cost You Your Case
The Tort Claims Act punishes procedural missteps harshly, and some cannot be undone. The law contains an election of remedies rule, which means that filing suit against the individual government employee instead of the governmental unit can permanently bar your claim against the government. Choosing the wrong defendant, sending notice to the wrong office, or letting a charter deadline slip past can each end an otherwise strong case before a judge ever hears it. Getting experienced counsel involved early is the most reliable way to avoid these traps and preserve every avenue of recovery.
Talk to Sherman Law Firm Before Your Deadline Runs Out
Since 2016, our practice has been 100 percent focused on personal injury law, and we have helped thousands of injured Texans across Harris and Montgomery counties and the greater Houston area. We know how to put a governmental unit on notice, preserve your claim, and fight for the result you deserve, in negotiation or at trial. Your consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fee until we win. Contact Sherman Law Firm today. Don’t settle for less.