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Like private landowners, municipal, state, and federal government bodies are responsible for keeping their property in reasonably safe condition for lawful visitors. However, the legal concept known as “sovereign immunity” ensures you can only sue a government entity over a personal injury if applicable laws specifically state that entity can be held liable for your specific type of injury.
Even then, there are additional rules and requirements in the filing process that don’t apply to personal injury lawsuits against private citizens—something that those who try to pursue these claims without a seasoned attorney’s help often learn the hard way. If you want a strong chance of securing fair compensation after being hurt in a government building or public park, working with a skilled Houston public property injury lawyer is essential.
Texas municipal and state government entities are protected by sovereign immunity from civil liability, except in the specific scenarios outlined in the Texas Tort Claims Act (TTCA). In addition to covering negligence by government employees operating or maintaining motor vehicles, this Act also allows people to hold government entities liable for unsafe conditions on public property, including government buildings, public recreational facilities, and publicly managed sidewalks and roads.
In order to successfully sue over an injury on Houston public property, you—or your lawyer—will need to show through a “preponderance of the evidence” that you were hurt as a direct result of a hazard that you weren’t warned about in advance and that wasn’t “open and obvious” to a reasonable person. You must also prove that the property’s owner had either direct or constructive knowledge of the hazard and therefore had a duty to address it—a stage of the litigation process where a knowledgeable attorney’s help can prove especially vital.
If you have grounds to file suit over an injury under the TTCA, you’re still subject to the standard “statute of limitations” for personal injury claims codified in Texas Civil Practice & Remedies §16.003. This means you must formally start the litigation process no more than two years after initially getting hurt. Crucially, though, you—or your Houston public property injury attorney acting on your behalf—must also fill out a “notice of tort claim” form and submit it to the government entity you intend to sue no later than six months after the date of your accident.
Furthermore, the TTCA sets “caps” on the amount of money different government entities can be required to pay for damages stemming from their own negligence. For claims against the state government or municipalities, the caps are $250,000 for a single person’s injuries, $500,000 for all injuries, and $100,000 for all property damage caused by a single accident. For claims against other units of local government besides municipalities, the caps for these three categories of damages are $100,000, $300,000, and $100,000, respectively.
Premises liability law can be complicated under any circumstances, but especially when the party responsible for your injury is a government employee, agency, or municipal authority. Fortunately, you have support available from knowledgeable legal counsel who could guide you every step of the way through your legal proceedings, regardless of who you need to take action against or what damages you want to seek restitution for.
A Houston public property injury lawyer from our team will know how to handle your case through extensive past experience with similar claims, and we will work tirelessly to get you the favorable outcome you deserve. Call today to schedule a consultation.
Lone Star Injury Attorneys, PLLC
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