Can I Sue My Local or State Government?

In most cases involving personal injury or property damage, a person or business is at fault, and the injured party can sue them for compensation. But what if the liable party isn’t a person or business but a government entity? Can you sue your state or local government? The short answer is yes; the full answer is more complicated.  

Historically, thanks to the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity, citizens could not sue the government unless the government consented to it. Now, states have passed laws waiving or limiting sovereign immunity, allowing citizens to bring civil lawsuits against the government in certain circumstances.  

This article will give an overview of the requirements for suing the government for harm. Since the laws that allow citizens to sue their state or local government are complex and can vary significantly from one jurisdiction to another, it’s essential to get legal help if you are considering legal action. 

What Is State and Local Government Law? 

“State and local government law is a fairly amorphous term,” says Ian T. Baxter, a personal injury attorney at Weber Gallagher in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. “From my practice perspective, I’m generally defending municipalities when, for example, someone sues them for an injury on a piece of township property.”

However, state and local government law goes beyond personal injury lawsuits. “It really touches on every citizen of the United States in some capacity, from enacting laws and regulations to maintaining infrastructure and public services,” says Baxter.

Who Represents State and Local Government in Legal Matters? 

“Generally, the attorney general’s office will defend the state government, whereas local-level municipalities often don’t have legal departments to defend their interests,” says Baxter.

Larger cities also have legal departments to defend the city in a lawsuit. “These legal departments can handle a wide range of legal matters. That doesn’t mean they won’t outsource in certain circumstances, but in large part, they’re keeping things in-house.”  

Unlike large cities, “Local governments typically have an attorney (called a ‘solicitor’ in Pennsylvania) who’s familiar with municipal law regulations. Because they have a generalized practice, a solicitor doesn’t necessarily have the expertise to handle every issue that arises in litigation,” Baxter explains.

“So, local governments generally use outside counsel to defend against lawsuits. That legal representation is often covered by insurance policies that the municipality must have by statute.”  

What Is the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity? 

Sovereign immunity is the idea that citizens can’t bring a civil lawsuit against the government without the government’s consent. 

This may sound bizarre. After all, if a government entity or employee has injured somebody, shouldn’t that injured person be able to get compensation through a lawsuit? But under sovereign immunity, the government can simply refuse to be sued. Why is that? 

One of the main rationales for sovereign immunity is that if government officials could be sued, it would hinder them from performing their duties and deter people from entering public service. More generally, it would undercut the government’s ability to govern. 

“If you take a step back and think about the purpose of local and state government as a tax-funded conglomerate of citizens, immunity makes sense because it allows the government to prioritize things that benefit citizens as a whole rather than redirecting taxpayer resources to lawsuits,” says Baxter. 

“I think the citizenry can appreciate that you don’t want to bankrupt your local government. You don’t want all your tax money going to individual lawsuits while you forget the roads and infrastructure.” 

Sovereign Immunity and Government Accountability vs. Resources

“Ultimately, a local government has a finite set of resources provided by the taxpayer and needs to budget appropriately,” says Baxter.

“That’s why having a degree of immunity extended to local governments is important. You don’t want them to act with impunity, and that’s not what sovereign immunity does. Instead, it’s designed to provide some limitations, acknowledging the finite resources that local governments are bound by.” 

So, does that mean you can’t sue the government if you’ve been harmed? No. Over the course of the twentieth century, states have enacted laws waiving or limiting sovereign immunity, allowing citizens to sue the government in various circumstances.  

Modern Limits to Sovereign Immunity: State Tort Claims Acts 

In 1946, Congress enacted the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). By allowing citizens to bring civil lawsuits against the federal government and federal employees in certain circumstances, the FTCA was a significant departure from the traditional doctrine of sovereign immunity.  

Many states have followed suit, passing their own Tort Claims Acts to waive or limit sovereign immunity and allow citizens to bring civil lawsuits against the government in state court.

State laws vary regarding the extent of their limitations on sovereign immunity, the process that citizens must follow to sue the government, and the types and amounts of damages that citizens can recover in a lawsuit. 

State-By-State Tort Claims Laws

State	Deadline to Provide Notice of Claim	Cap on Compensatory Damages	State Tort Claims Act
Alabama	1 year to file with the Board of Adjustment	No cap	None (constitutional sovereign immunity)
Alaska	2 years	Non-economic damages cap by impairment	Alaska Tort Claims Act
Arizona	180 days	No cap	Arizona Actions Against Public Entities and Public Employees Act
Arkansas	3 years to file with Claims Commission	No cap	None (constitutional sovereign immunity)
California	6 months	No cap (medical malpractice non-economic damages cap)	California Government Claims Act
Colorado	182 days	$505,000 per person / $1,421,000 per occurrence (until January 1, 2030)	Colorado Governmental Immunity Act
Connecticut	1 year	No cap	Connecticut Claims Against the State Act
Delaware	2 years	Limited to insurance policy limits	Delaware State Tort Claims Act
Florida	3 years (2 years for wrongful death)	$200,000 per person / $300,000 per occurrence	Florida Tort Claims Act
Georgia	12 months	$1 million per person / $3 million per occurrence	Georgia Tort Claims Act
Hawaii	2 years	$375,000 non-economic damages cap	Hawaii State Tort Liability Act
Idaho	180 days	$500,000 per occurrence	Idaho Tort Claims Act
Illinois	1 year	$2,629,104.52 (2026)	Illinois Court of Claims Act
Indiana	270 days	$700,000 per person / $5 million per occurrence	Indiana Tort Claims Act
Iowa	2 years	No cap	Iowa State Tort Claims Act
Kansas	120 days	$500,000 per occurrence	Kansas Tort Claims Act
Kentucky	1 year	$250,000 per person / $400,000 per occurrence	Kentucky Board of Claims Act
Louisiana	1 year	$500,000 damages cap	Louisiana Governmental Claims Act
Maine	365 days	$400,000 per occurrence	Maine Tort Claims Act
Maryland	1 year	$400,000 per claimant	Maryland Tort Claims Act
Massachusetts	2 years	$100,000 per plaintiff	Massachusetts Tort Claims Act
Michigan	6 months	No cap	Michigan Governmental Tort Liability Act
Minnesota	180 days	$500,000 per person / $1,500,000 per occurrence	Minnesota State Tort Claims Act
Mississippi	90 days prior to lawsuit (within the 1-year statute of limitations)	$500,000 per occurrence	Mississippi Tort Claims Act
Missouri	2 years	$532,148 per person / $3,547,658 per occurrence (2026)	Missouri Tort Claims Act
Montana	120 days	$750,000 per claim / $1,500,000 per occurrence	Montana Tort Claims Act
Nebraska	2 years	No cap	Nebraska State Tort Claims Act
Nevada	2 years	$200,000 per claimant	Nevada Tort Claims Act
New Hampshire	180 days	$475,000 per person / $3,750,000 per occurrence	New Hampshire Claims Against the State Act
New Jersey	90 days	No cap	New Jersey Tort Claims Act
New Mexico	90 days	$750,000 per occurrence	New Mexico Tort Claims Act
New York	90 days	No cap	New York Court of Claims Act
North Carolina	3 years	$1,000,000 per occurrence	North Carolina Tort Claims Act
North Dakota	180 days	$500,000 per person / $2 million per occurrence	North Dakota Tort Claims Act
Ohio	2 years	No cap	Ohio Court of Claims Act
Oklahoma	1 year	$175,000 per person / $1,000,000 per occurrence	Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act
Oregon	180 days (1 year for wrongful death)	$2,708,100 per person / $5,416,200 per occurrence (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)	Oregon Tort Claims Act
Pennsylvania	6 months	$250,000 per plaintiff / $1,000,000 per occurrence	Pennsylvania Sovereign Immunity Act
Rhode Island	3 years	$100,000	Rhode Island Tort Claims Act
South Carolina	1 year	$300,000 per person / $600,000 per occurrence	South Carolina Tort Claims Act
South Dakota	180 days	No cap	South Dakota Public Liability
Tennessee	1 year	$300,000 per claimant / $1,000,000 per occurrence	Tennessee Claims Commission Act
Texas	6 months	$250,000 per person / $500,000 per occurrence	Texas Tort Claims Act
Utah	1 year	$827,000 per person / $3,329,100 per occurrence	Utah Governmental Immunity Act
Vermont	3 years	$500,000 per person / $2 million per occurrence	Vermont Tort Claims Act
Virginia	1 year	$100,000 or insurance limits	Virginia Tort Claims Act
Washington	60 days prior to filing lawsuit (within the statute of limitations)	No cap	Washington State Tort Claims Act
Washington, D.C.	6 months	No cap	District of Columbia Employee Non-Liability Act
West Virginia	30 days prior to filing lawsuit (within 2-year statute of limitations)	Limited to insurance policy limits	West Virginia Governmental Tort Claims Act
Wisconsin	120 days	$250,000 per claimant	Wisconsin Governmental Immunity
Wyoming	2 years	$250,000 per person / $500,000 per occurrence	Wyoming Governmental Claims Act

Example of Bringing Suit Under a State Tort Claims Act: Pennsylvania

Baxter gives the process in Pennsylvania as an example: “There’s a six-month notice period. So, within six months of having sustained some tortious injury, the local government must be placed on notice. Failure to do so may operate as a bar to the claim, much like a statute of limitations. The notice requirement isn’t technically a bona fide statute of limitations, but practically speaking, it operates that way.” 

Assuming you meet the notice requirement, you must satisfy one of the statute’s enumerated exceptions to immunity, then you can proceed with your claim, says Baxter. Exceptions to immunity under Pennsylvania’s Tort Claims Act (PTCA) include: 

• Vehicle liability for the operation of any motor vehicle in the possession or control of a Commonwealth party 
• Dangerous conditions on Commonwealth real estate, including sidewalks and highways 
• Sexual abuse committed by a Commonwealth party 

In proving your claim under the PTCA, “You have to demonstrate and prove by a preponderance of the evidence that there’s causation between the claimed condition set forth in one of the exceptions and the ultimate injury in question,” adds Baxter. 

Lawsuits Against the Government: What To Keep in Mind 

“There are statutory requirements that a claimant must satisfy to bring a successful lawsuit against a governmental entity,” says Baxter, including: 

• What is your claim? Does your state’s Tort Claims Act allow your type of claim? What must you prove in your negligence claim to win a lawsuit? 
• Who are you suing? Are you suing the state or the local government? Are you suing a specific state agency or multiple agencies? Are you suing a specific government employee rather than an agency or governmental body?  
• What forms must you submit? Generally, people seeking to sue the government must submit notice. You generally can send the specified notice claim form via certified mail, submit it online, or present the form in person to the parties you plan to sue. Your state law may prescribe other methods for giving notice. Be sure you’re aware of the necessary documentation.
• What is the time limit? If you miss the deadline to file a notice, you can’t take legal action. Be sure to act promptly. 
• What damages can you get? The amount of damages is a critical factor in deciding whether or not to sue. How has the state limited the damages in lawsuits against the government? Is it worth bringing the lawsuit based on what you could win? What types of damages does the state allow–economic, non-economic, or punitive damages? 

What Kind of Lawyer Do I Need? 

The type of lawyer you should get depends on the circumstances giving rise to the claim, says Baxter. “If I get injured on government property, and I’m a prudent plaintiff, then I’m seeking an attorney with experience suing for personal injury claims. If the police violated my civil rights, I would try to find a good civil rights attorney.”  

Regardless of the specific claim, “You need to find someone who has experience bringing that type of claim because there are nuances. There are certain things that, if you’ve never done it before or don’t have any experience in suing governments, you could easily overlook.”

Ultimately, it pays to have an experienced attorney at least review your case and provide legal advice on whether the claim is worth pursuing. 

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