Hit by a city, county or state vehicle in Texas (police car, city truck, county worker): how do claims work?

First question: whose vehicle was it?

A crash with a government vehicle is not handled like a crash with a neighbor. The government is normally immune from being sued, and it can be sued only as far as a statute allows. So the first thing we pin down is exactly who owned the vehicle and who employed the driver:

• A city: police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, garbage trucks and public works trucks. In Houston, that is the City of Houston.
• A county: sheriff's deputies, constables, precinct road crews. In Houston, Harris County.
• The State of Texas: DPS troopers, TxDOT trucks and other state agencies.
• Other local governments: transit authorities like METRO and school districts. We cover those in METRO bus and school bus crashes.
• The federal government: the Postal Service, Border Patrol, military vehicles. Different law, explained below.
• A private contractor working for the government. The Tort Claims Act's definition of “employee” leaves out independent contractors (§ 101.001(2)), so a private company hauling trash or paving a road for the city is generally an ordinary claim, without the government's caps or notice rules. See hit by a dump truck or garbage truck.

The officer's crash report usually names the agency and unit number. Photos of the vehicle's door markings and number help too.

When does the Tort Claims Act allow a claim?

Under § 101.021(1), a governmental unit is liable for injury, death and property damage caused by an employee acting within the scope of employment when it “arises from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment” and the employee would be personally liable under Texas law. A city truck driver who runs a red light, or a county worker who backs into your car, fits that description.

That last condition matters. If the employee would be protected by official immunity, the government isn't liable either. In City of Houston v. Rodriguez (Tex. Dec. 31, 2024), the Texas Supreme Court dismissed a claim over an HPD officer's crash during a chase because a reasonable officer could have believed the chase was worth the risk, and the evidence showed at most negligence.

What is the deadline? Houston is 90 days

The Act gives the government the right to written notice within six months of the crash, describing the injury, the time and place, and what happened (§ 101.101(a)). But cities can set a shorter deadline in their charter, and the Act approves those (§ 101.101(b)).

The City of Houston requires notice within 90 days under Article IX, Section 11 of its charter, and it must be “duly verified,” meaning signed before a notary. It must say when, where and how the injury happened, the apparent extent of the injury, the amount of damages, the amount the claimant will settle for, the claimant's street address, and the names and addresses of witnesses. A claim that misses the time and manner releases the City, according to the City's own claims page. Other cities set their own rules; El Paso's is in the deadline for a claim against the City of El Paso.

Harris County, other counties and the State follow the six-month rule. Harris County's claims are investigated by its own licensed adjusters, who make recommendations to Commissioners Court.

The Act excuses notice when the government had actual notice of the death, injury or property damage (§ 101.101(c)), but that exception is narrow in practice, and we never rely on it. Notice is not the lawsuit: a suit is generally still due within two years (§ 16.003), and it is filed in state court in the county where the crash happened (§ 101.102).

How much can be recovered?

The Act caps damages (§ 101.023):

• State and cities: $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for injury or death, plus $100,000 for property damage.
• Counties and other local units, including transit authorities and school districts: $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence, plus $100,000 for property damage.

When the injuries are serious, the cap is often the limit of what the government pays. That is why we also look for other drivers who share the blame and for your own uninsured/underinsured motorist and PIP coverage (Insurance Code §§ 1952.101, 1952.151).

What if it was a police car, fire truck or ambulance on an emergency call?

This is the hardest kind of government vehicle case. The Act does not apply to an employee “responding to an emergency call or reacting to an emergency situation” if the employee followed the laws that apply to emergency action, or, where no such law applies, did not act with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others (§ 101.055(2)). Emergency drivers still owe a duty of “appropriate regard for the safety of all persons” (Transportation Code § 546.005).

In City of Austin v. Powell (Tex. Dec. 31, 2024), the Texas Supreme Court held that only laws that specifically govern emergency driving count, not general traffic rules or a department's internal policy, and that a momentary lapse is not recklessness. These claims can still be won, but they turn on evidence gathered early: speed, lights and siren, dispatch records, video and the radio traffic. A chase also often means a claim against the driver who fled. See hurt in a DPS trooper chase.

Can I sue the driver personally instead of the government?

Usually not. Texas forces an early choice, and the rules point toward the government. Suing the government bars suing the employee over the same crash, and suing the employee bars suing the government unless it consents (§ 101.106(a)-(b)). If you sue an employee for something done within the general scope of the job that could have been brought against the government, the suit is treated as against the employee only in an official capacity, and it is dismissed unless you substitute the government within 30 days (§ 101.106(f)). The Texas Supreme Court has applied that even when the Act would not let the claim against the government go forward (Franka v. Velasquez, 332 S.W.3d 367 (Tex. 2011)). Naming the wrong defendant can end a claim, so we make that choice carefully.

Federal vehicles: USPS, Border Patrol and military

A crash with a federal vehicle goes under the Federal Tort Claims Act. A written claim must reach the agency within two years (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)), usually on Standard Form 95 with a specific dollar amount, a “sum certain” (28 C.F.R. § 14.2). That number generally caps what can be recovered later (28 U.S.C. § 2675(b)). The agency has six months to decide; after a denial, suit must be filed within six months. The claim is against the United States, not the driver (28 U.S.C. § 2679), and a judge, not a jury, decides it (§ 2402). More in hurt by a driver fleeing Border Patrol.

What to do now

Get medical care, keep every record, and write down the vehicle or unit number. Don't send a letter or form to the city, county or agency yourself, and don't give a recorded statement to its adjuster. Once you hire us, we identify the right government, prepare and send the notice the right way and on time, and handle every conversation with its claims office and the insurers. You talk with Jimmy directly, in English or Spanish, by phone, text, email or video call, and in person when needed, wherever you are in Texas.

Other ways people ask this

Can I sue the City of Houston for a car accident?

Yes, when a city employee's driving caused the crash, under the Texas Tort Claims Act. The City requires sworn written notice within 90 days, and damages are capped at $250,000 per person.

How long do I have to file a claim against Harris County?

The Tort Claims Act requires written notice within six months of the crash, and a lawsuit generally within two years. The county's cap is $100,000 per person.

A TxDOT truck hit me. What deadline applies?

Claims against the State require notice within six months, and the State's cap is $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence.

Can I sue a police officer who hit me on an emergency call?

Only if the officer broke a law that specifically governs emergency driving or acted with reckless disregard for others' safety. Simple carelessness is not enough after City of Austin v. Powell (2024).

Should I sue the city worker or the city?

Usually the city. Under § 101.106, suing one can bar the claim against the other, and a suit against an employee acting within the job is dismissed unless the government is substituted.

A postal truck hit me. Is that a city claim?

No. USPS is federal, so the Federal Tort Claims Act applies: a written claim with a specific dollar amount, usually on Standard Form 95, within two years.

What if the city truck belonged to a private contractor?

Then it is generally an ordinary claim against the company, without the government's notice rules or caps, because the Act excludes independent contractors.

Authority: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 101 (Tort Claims Act) · City of Houston Legal Department: How to file a claim · City of Austin v. Powell, No. 22-0662 (Tex. 2024) · City of Houston v. Rodriguez, No. 23-0094 (Tex. 2024) · 28 U.S.C. § 2675 (federal claims) · 28 C.F.R. § 14.2 (Standard Form 95, sum certain)