Texas Tort Claims Act Lawyer

What Is the Texas Tort Claims Act?

The Texas Tort Claims Act (Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 101) is the law that gives you a limited right to sue a governmental unit. Without it, sovereign immunity would bar the case entirely.

“Governmental unit” is broad — it includes the State of Texas and its agencies, counties, cities, school districts, public hospital districts, transit authorities, and emergency service organizations. But the Act only waives immunity in specific situations, and it limits how much you can recover.

When Can You Sue a Government Entity in Texas?

The Act waives immunity in a narrow set of circumstances. In general, a governmental unit can be liable for:

• Motor-driven vehicles and equipment — injury, death, or property damage caused by an employee’s negligent operation or use of a vehicle or motor-driven equipment while acting within the scope of employment.
• Condition or use of tangible property — personal injury or death caused by a condition or use of tangible personal or real property.
• Premises defects — dangerous conditions on government property, though the duty owed is often the limited duty owed to a licensee.

Common examples include a city bus or garbage truck collision, a county vehicle running a light, a fall caused by a hazard at a public building, a dangerous road condition, and negligence at a public hospital.

The Six-Month Notice Deadline

This is where most claims are lost. Section 101.101 requires that the governmental unit receive notice no later than six months after the day the incident occurred. The notice must reasonably describe the injury or damage, the time and place, and the incident itself.

Many cities and other entities have charters or ordinances imposing an even shorter deadline — sometimes as little as 45 or 90 days. Those shorter periods are generally enforceable. Formal notice is not required only where the governmental unit already has actual notice of the death, injury, or property damage.

The two-year statute of limitations for personal injury still applies on top of the notice requirement. Missing either deadline can end an otherwise strong case, which is why these claims should be reviewed immediately.

Damage Caps Under the Act

Even when immunity is waived, Section 101.023 limits what you can recover. The caps depend on which type of entity is involved:

• State government: $250,000 per person and $500,000 per single occurrence for bodily injury or death, and $100,000 per occurrence for property damage.
• Municipalities: $250,000 per person and $500,000 per single occurrence for bodily injury or death, and $100,000 per occurrence for property damage.
• Units of local government: $100,000 per person and $300,000 per single occurrence for bodily injury or death, and $100,000 per occurrence for property damage.
• Emergency service organizations: $100,000 per person and $300,000 per single occurrence for bodily injury or death, and $100,000 per occurrence for property damage.

Exemplary (punitive) damages are not recoverable against a governmental unit. Because the caps are firm, building the strongest possible case for the damages that are available matters enormously.

How The Law Giant Handles Tort Claims Act Cases

These cases turn on procedure as much as proof. We identify every potentially responsible entity, determine which cap applies, prepare and serve the required notice well inside the deadline, and preserve the evidence — vehicle maintenance and dispatch records, incident reports, and video that public entities routinely overwrite.

We also look past the government entity. A contractor, maintenance company, or equipment manufacturer may share responsibility and may not be protected by immunity or subject to the caps at all. With over $800 Million recovered for injury victims, The Law Giant has the resources to take these cases on. Call 866-523-4167 for a free consultation — you pay nothing unless we win.