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What are the sovereign immunity caps or limits for personal injuries caused by a government entity and its employees? In the State of Florida as well as other states, there are laws in place that protect government entities. These laws allow a government entity to be sued only under certain circumstances and only up to certain limits. Government entity refers to any city (i.e. City of Jacksonville), county (i.e. Duval County), or state entity (i.e. Florida Department of Corrections).
Sovereign immunity laws in Florida limit recovery against a government entity to $100,000 per person and/or $200,000 per accident. What this means, is that the State recognizes that State and local government cannot be held liable for damages over that amount. There are, however, certain exemptions. For instance, if there is liability insurance over the sovereign limits, a case could be pursued to the extent of those insurance limits in certain circumstances. In addition, a claims bill could be pursued for the full value of the case. A claims bill is essentially a special law passed by the Florida legislature to allow payment or recovery of damages over and above the sovereign limits. It is quite difficult to obtain approval by the legislature and governor for a claims bill. Currently, the Florida sovereign immunity injury cap is $100,000 per individual and $200,000 per incident. These limits will be increased to #200,000 per individual and $300,000 per incident beginning in October 2011. See Governor Crist Signs Law Changing Sovereign Immunity Caps.