To sue the state of Texas, you have to find a statute that gives you permission to sue, send the agency a written notice of your claim within six months of the incident, and then file suit in a Texas district court within two years. Sovereign immunity blocks lawsuits against the state unless the Legislature has consented to that specific type of claim, so the first question in any Texas government case is not whether you have a good claim on the facts but whether a law opens the courthouse door at all.
Sovereign Immunity Blocks Most Claims by Default
Sovereign immunity is a doctrine that shields the state government from lawsuits unless the Legislature consents. Texas Government Code Section 311.034 says a statute will not be read as waiving that protection unless it does so in “clear and unambiguous language.”1State of Texas. Texas Code Government Code 311.034 – Waiver of Sovereign Immunity You cannot file a personal injury or property damage claim against the state the way you would against a private party. You need a statute that says the state has agreed to be sued for that kind of claim.
The same barrier applies to state agencies, boards, and commissions, and to political subdivisions like cities, counties, school districts, and special districts.2State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.001 – Definitions The most common statute that opens the door is the Texas Tort Claims Act.
What the Texas Tort Claims Act Lets You Sue For
The Texas Tort Claims Act (TTCA) waives immunity for negligence claims in two narrow situations:
- Property damage, personal injury, or death caused by a government employee’s negligent operation of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment, while the employee was acting within the scope of the job.
- Personal injury or death caused by a condition or use of tangible personal or real property, where the government would be liable under the same circumstances as a private person. A broken stairway in a state building or a hazard on state-owned land fits here.
Both categories require a negligent government employee acting within the scope of employment.3State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.021 – Governmental Liability “Tangible” property means physical objects. Claims built on bad information, bad advice, or the failure to provide a service will not qualify.
Claims the TTCA Does Not Cover
Intentional torts are out. Assault, battery, false imprisonment, and other deliberate acts are excluded, as are injuries connected to civil disobedience, riots, or insurrection.4State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.057 – Certain Conduct Discretionary decisions are also out: if a state agency made a judgment call the law left to its discretion, or chose not to act at all, immunity is not waived.5State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.056 – Discretionary Powers A claim that the state should have allocated more money to road maintenance, for example, will not survive.
Punitive or exemplary damages are barred no matter how bad the conduct was.6State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.024 – Exemplary Damages
Send Written Notice Within Six Months
Before you can sue under the TTCA, you must give the governmental unit written notice of your claim within six months of the incident. Courts treat this as jurisdictional, meaning a missed deadline ends the case regardless of the underlying facts.7State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.101 – Notice
The notice needs to reasonably describe three things: the damage or injury, the time and place of the incident, and what happened.7State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.101 – Notice A clear factual letter is enough. Send it by certified mail so you have proof of delivery, addressed to the agency’s executive director or to the Texas Attorney General for a state agency claim.
The statute has one exception: if the governmental unit already has actual notice of the injury, death, or property damage, the formal written notice is not required.7State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.101 – Notice Do not rely on it. The burden of proving actual notice is on you, and courts read it narrowly. Send the letter.
Pick the Agency or the Employee, Not Both
Texas law forces a choice at the start of the case. You can sue the governmental unit or you can sue the individual employee. You cannot do both over the same incident. Filing against one permanently bars a claim against the other (unless the government consents).8State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.106 – Election of Remedies
Name both in the same petition and the employee must be dismissed on the government’s motion. If you sue only the employee for conduct within the general scope of the job, and the claim could have been brought against the governmental unit under the TTCA, the suit is treated as an official-capacity suit. The employee can move to dismiss, and you have 30 days to amend the petition to name the governmental unit or lose the case.8State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.106 – Election of Remedies Getting this wrong at the start can destroy an otherwise valid claim.
Filing the Lawsuit
If notice does not resolve the claim, the next step is filing a petition in a Texas district court. The petition must lay out the facts and identify the specific statute that waives immunity. Skip that and the court will dismiss on immunity grounds without ever reaching the merits.
You must file within the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury, running from the date the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the incident or, in a wrongful death case, the date of death.9State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003 – Two-Year Limitations Period The six-month notice deadline and the two-year filing deadline run independently. Meeting one does not excuse the other, and the notice clock will run out first.
After filing, the petition must be formally served on the governmental unit, which will almost certainly raise immunity as a defense. The court then decides whether your claim fits within a valid waiver before the case moves forward on the facts. Filing fees in Texas district courts vary by county but generally fall between roughly $250 and $400. If you cannot afford the fee, you can file an affidavit of inability to pay and ask the court to waive costs.
How Much You Can Actually Recover
Even a winning claim runs into hard caps. Against the state government itself, Section 101.023 limits recovery to $250,000 per person and $500,000 per single occurrence for bodily injury or death, plus a separate $100,000 cap for property damage. Against local governmental units like cities and counties, the caps drop to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for bodily injury or death, with the same $100,000 property damage limit. These are ceilings. Losses above them are not paid.
Different Claims Take Different Paths
Medical Care at Government-Run Facilities
Some Texas hospitals and clinics are owned by governmental entities, including county hospital districts and university medical centers. Malpractice claims against them fall under the TTCA’s property-condition waiver and carry the same six-month notice deadline. The two-year medical malpractice limitations period still governs when you have to file suit, but the notice clock starts the day of the incident, and that is far shorter than most patients expect.
Contract Disputes With State Agencies
The TTCA covers negligence, not contracts. Vendors and contractors who believe a state agency broke a contract use Texas Government Code Chapter 2260 instead. You generally must file a notice of claim with the contracting agency within 180 days of the triggering event. The process requires negotiation, and potentially mediation, before you can request a contested-case hearing. Court comes only after you exhaust that administrative process.
Constitutional Violations Under Section 1983
When a state actor violates your constitutional rights, federal law provides a separate route. Under 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983, someone deprived of constitutional rights by a person acting “under color of” state law can sue for damages in federal court.10GovInfo. U.S.C. Title 42 – The Public Health and Welfare This covers due process, equal protection, free speech, and protections against unreasonable searches, among others.
One limit matters at the start: you can sue individual state officials and employees under Section 1983, but not the state itself or a state agency. The Eleventh Amendment bars that. If a state trooper used excessive force during a traffic stop, the suit is against the trooper individually, not against the Texas Department of Public Safety. Section 1983 allows punitive damages and is not subject to the TTCA caps. Individual defendants can raise qualified immunity as a defense, which protects them unless they violated a right that was “clearly established” at the time. The limitations period borrows from the state’s two-year personal injury deadline, though federal law controls when the clock starts.
Picking the Right Path Matters Early
The choice of framework is not a technicality. If a government employee’s negligence while driving a state vehicle injured you, the TTCA is the route and you sue the governmental unit. If a state official deliberately violated your constitutional rights, Section 1983 is the route and you sue the individual in federal court. If a state agency broke a contract, Chapter 2260’s administrative process comes first. Filing under the wrong framework wastes time, and between the election-of-remedies rule and the short deadlines, the wrong first move can foreclose the right one permanently.
Because the procedural traps are unforgiving and the deadlines are short, talking to an attorney who handles government liability cases early is the single most useful step you can take. The six-month notice deadline in particular leaves very little room for delay.